Even after all this time
by Nice-one
Summary: Years after their last encounter Jess and Rory meet once again. Naturally, this will change both of their worlds and bring back feelings Rory thought she had buried long ago. Will Jess succeed this time? LIT.
1. Chapter 1

_**Even after all this time**_

**-x-x-x-x-**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I'm poor. It's sad. **

**A/N: I'm back. With a story I've written recently, instead of one that I've had saved on my computer for ages. It started out as a one-shot, but while writing it, I realized there really wasn't a believable ending possible that would've satisfied. So therefore I'm turning this into a story, but I can't promise when I'll update since I'm not the most consistent of people. So bare with me! I can tell you that I've already written the second and third chapter, so that sounds promising, right?**

**It might not be that good and definitely not all that original, but I like it and I hope you do too.**

-x-x-x-x-

_Chapter 1: _

It was Jess who noticed first. He had become aware of her presence the second she walked in. He wasn't even surprised. He figured something like this was bound to happen someday. He didn't know why, but he just knew. Her hair was long and curly, her clothes dark and sophisticated and her face as beautiful as ever. She walked up to the counter in a rapid pace as if she was in a hurry. She probably was. There was no line, so she quickly placed her order (coffee, no doubt). All this time Jess' eyes followed her every move. She sighed as she slowly took off her gloves (it was freezing outside) and started to look around the almost empty diner while waiting for her coffee. Naturally, that's when she saw him. Her gaze stopped and they locked eyes. He was only a few steps away from her and they could almost touch. They didn't speak. A faint smile appeared on Rory's face. She had hoped something like this would happen someday. In some way she missed him. Not every day, not all the time, but he was on her mind sometimes. And she had wondered about him. About his life. Of course Luke had told her some things, but she still didn't know. Not all of it. And it had been a while. Too long.

"You look the same." She broke the silence.

"You sure about that?" He asked, smiling.

She simply nodded as her shy smile grew a bit wider.

"Yeah. I feel like I've gone back in time."

The clerk handed Rory her coffee and she paid for it without taking her eyes off Jess. Then she slowly walked up to his table.

"Is it okay if I sit down?"

"You have time for that?"

"No."

But she sat down anyway and took a careful sip of her hot coffee. She couldn't stop staring at the man sitting in front of her. It was surreal to see him again, yet she wasn't surprised about it and it wasn't awkward or strange in any way, even though they were sitting in silence. She actually remembered the comfortable silences from back in the day. Back in the day. God, that sounded as if she was old. She wasn't. He wasn't. But it had been five years since they last saw each other. At least.

"How long has it been?" She asked, hoping he'd know exactly.

But Jess shrugged. His typical Jess shrug. Nobody shrugged like he did.

"A few years. Five, six maybe."

"That's long."

"Too long." He agreed.

Rory nodded.

"I've read them all." She suddenly told him. "Cover to cover. Most of them without taking a single breath."

"Dangerous hobby you got there." He joked. "You liked them?"

"You know the Jess Mariano fanclub that's becoming huge on the web? I'm president."

"Liar."

"Fine. Honor Member then."

"Still doubtful, but I appreciate the gesture."

"And R.G is me, right?" She asked, carefully.

"Who else?"

"I thought maybe you befriended Richard Gere in the mean time."

"No, sorry. It's all you."

Rory nodded again, thoughtfully. She drank her coffee as she remembered some great things about Jess. And about her and Jess. The good things. Only the good things.

"You married?" He suddenly asked, nodding to the ring on Rory's finger.

"Don't you think you would've known if I was?"

Jess shrugged.

"Looks like a wedding ring to me."

"It's an engagement ring. Sort of."

"Who's the lucky guy?"

Rory chuckled and amusement could be read from her eyes.

"You don't wanna know."

"Mr. Hot Shot, I'm Too Sexy For My Shirt, Driving Around In My Porsche?"

"Logan, yes. And spare me your disapproval."

Jess raised his hands above his head.

"Not a word." He promised. "And how 'sort of' an engagement ring?"

"He's got commitment issues. Still. But there will be a wedding. Eventually."

"Is he still a jerk?"

Rory shrugged.

"Once in a while. I don't think there's a cure for that. Not for him anyway. But you get used to it."

"And you can live with that?"

"Nobody's perfect, Jess. Besides, what happened to 'not a word'?"

"I'm not judging. As long as you're happy."

"I am. Most of the time, anyway."

"You deserve better, Rory." Jess suddenly said, the tone in his voice different now. More serious, no longer light.

"Jess..."

"I'm just saying. You do. I might sound like a cheesy soap opera when I say this, but you deserve someone who loves you unconditionally and not just when it's convenient. Someone who's there for you, always and treats you with respect. Treats you the way you deserve to be treated. Not that I'm one to talk, but..."

"_You_ did love me unconditionally." Rory stated, interrupting him and looking up at him expectantly. "You did. I never doubted that."

"Unfortunately I had a crappy way of showing it. I didn't treat you any better than this Logan guy. Which is why..."

"...you don't understand why I chose him over you." Rory finished his sentence.

Jess didn't answer, but she knew that was the exact answer he needed an answer to. Even after all this time. He wanted to know.

"We had bad timing, Jess."

"I came back, more than once to show you how I felt... You turned me down every single time."

"Well, because you had bad timing."

"That's not true Rory and you know it. Last time we saw each other I kissed you and you left to go back to him...even though you knew things were different now. That I was different. That I had more to offer..."

"What are you saying, Jess?"

"Nothing. Just that...maybe I loved you more than you ever loved me."

"Why would you..."

"I was absolutely crazy about you. Even after I left you, you were all I ever thought about. I couldn't even think about dating somebody else, about falling in love with somebody else. For years you were all that was on my mind. I actually thought that someday things would be different and I would show up and you would come around and that we would finally be together. For real this time. Without me screwing things up or without somebody trying to break us up...But you're still with him. He's as much of a jerk as I was, yet you're still with him after all these years. Where did I go wrong?"

"You left, Jess. If you hadn't, I don't know if things would be the way they are right now. I loved you. A lot. Even now, you're still a part of my life. It drives Logan crazy when I talk to our friends about my handsome ex-boyfriend, the bestselling author who dedicates all his books to me and to the relationship we once had. It drives him nuts that a guy I dated when I was in my teens still has such an impact on my life. That your books make me cry when I'm reading them in bed late at night with him lying next to me. Trust me, you've been the reason for many, many of our fights, which is crazy, because until a few minutes ago I hadn't even seen you in six years. So that's how much you meant to me, Jess. That's how much I loved you. Maybe still love you. So don't ever flatter yourself like that again, Mr. Mariano, because if you would drop on one knee right now and, I don't know, popped the question, don't think I wouldn't consider it, because...what I had with you, what we had once upon a time...I hadn't had that with anybody before I met you and I haven't had that with anybody since you left. It's just that...Logan was there. He's still here. He's difficult and there's drama, but he doesn't leave. He stays with me. Always."

Jess watched Rory with an amused look on his face. He knew she was serious and he loved hearing her say that. Truth was that even now, after all these years, Rory was still all that was on his mind. She truly had been the inspiration of many, if not all, of his books and even though he'd had flings and semi-serious relationships the past few years, he had never loved anybody else.

"So..." He started. "I'm not gonna be dropping on any knees any time soon, but...I'd like you to consider it."

"Consider what?"

"Considering leaving your current jerk of a boyfriend and trading him in for another, also jerk of a boyfriend."

"What?"

"Do what I think you should've done long ago. Come back to me. Let me show you how things could be. Should be maybe even."

"It's been years, Jess. We can't just..."

"Nothing's changed in those years. It's still there."

"I'm engaged."

"Only because he's there. Because he didn't leave you the way I did, you just said so yourself. Is that a good reason to marry somebody?"

"I love him, Jess."

"The way you loved me?"

"No, not the way I love you. Not even close, but that was years ago."

"You don't feel that way anymore?"

Rory sighed and turned away her head, not sure how to answer that question.

"I just told you that maybe I do still love you, but...it doesn't mean anything."

"Huh. That's rude. Saying love doesn't mean anything."

"I'm just saying. I was in love with you six years ago. So the person I love is the person you were six years ago. You're different. I'm different. We can't just pick up where we left off."

"We could give it a try." Jess' simple solution was.

Rory shook her head, but smiled at his simplicity and above all, his belief. He really believed that the two of them could have a future.

"You're dead serious, aren't you?" She asked as she searched for eye-contact once again. "You're really sitting here asking me to break off my engagement to be with you."

"I am."

"It's crazy, Jess."

"Yeah, well, we've always been a little crazy. Look, I realize I'm asking a lot, but... doesn't this just feel right? I mean, think about it, we haven't talked in six years and now we're sitting here and it feels just like before. Nothing's awkward or strange. This just makes sense Rory. It's always made sense and you know it."

Rory didn't think she'd ever seen Jess like this before. Sure, he'd come and declared his unconditional love for her before (she remembered all times rather vividly), but it was just different now. It wasn't begging the way it was when he asked her to go with him to...wherever. It wasn't pathetic or sad in any way. He was just sitting there, confident and just so sure of everything he was saying that she was tempted. More than that even. She knew there was truth to his words and that it really did make sense. She was also convinced that they could have that bright future together, yet it was crazy and too sudden to even consider it.

"You can't just ask me this, Jess. You can't just drop this on me and just expect me to throw myself in your arms."

"I'm not expecting anything. I don't want you to make a decision on the spot, because if you do that decision will be based on our past and on what you felt six years ago. I want you to base it on us. On what we have right here and now."

"I don't know what we have right here and now." Rory confessed.

"Exactly. So give yourself a chance to figure it out."

"Meaning?"

"Have dinner with me. Tonight."

"What?"

"And leave whats-his-face at home."

"I can't just..."

"Sure you can. Tell him you're meeting up with an old friend. No lies there. And just have dinner with me. Nothing more, nothing less. Just that. Get to know me once again. Give me a chance to get to know the person you've become."

Rory just looked at Jess, not knowing how to answer him. However, when a smile, a completely unintentional smile, appeared on her face, that was all the answer he needed.

-x-x-x-x-

**A/N: So there it is. Was it any good? Please let me know. Criticism is always welcome as long as I can work with it. Thanks.**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or the characters or anything really. I'm poor. It's sad.

A/N: First of all, my sincere apologies for the wait! My internet connection kind of sucks and it didn't work for a while. Hopefully it's fixed now and will I be able to update on a more regular basis. Second of all, thanks for all the wonderful reviews! Really, I didn't think so many people would read this and be excited about it. Thank you, thank you, thank you. And third of all: Happy New Year. I hope every single one of you has a healthy, happy, extraordinary 2007 filled with love and joy!

Now on with the story!

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 2

Rory stood in front of the mirror and sighed at her reflection. She used her hands to position a few loose hanging strands of hair where she wanted them to be and held a finger over her perfect, shiny lips. She was startled when Logan entered the bathroom and grabbed her waist.

"Morning..." He whispered in her ear and softly kissed her cheek.

"It's almost 7 pm, Logan."

"Maybe, but this is the first time I see you today, so for us it's morning."

"That's ridiculous." She told him as she removed his hands from her waist and turned away from him to reach out to her purse that was located on the toilet seat.

"Wow, someone is in a bad mood." Logan stated as he watched his fiancée go through her purse and making sure she had everything. "Where are you going anyway?"

"Dinner. I told you over the phone today, but apparently you were too busy to even remember that."

"Come on, Ace." Logan sighed. "I did have a very busy day at work."

"I believe you. But that's no excuse for not even remembering what I said."

"You're going out to dinner with an old friend." He stated. "Of course I remember."

"Well, good. So that's where I'm going."

"Do I know her?" Logan changed the subject.

Rory left the bathroom and entered the bedroom and, naturally, Logan followed her. She grabbed her stuff from the bed.

"Her?" She asked.

"Yeah. Your old friend."

Rory hesitated as she turned to the big mirror hanging from the wall in their bedroom.

"It's not a her." She eventually spoke.

Logan didn't respond right away. Rory inspected herself in the big mirror.

"Figures." He then said. "Explains why you're wearing that dress."

Rory sighed and turned to Logan.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"The dress. You're wearing it in the middle of the winter. Black, revealing, cleavage, short."

"It's not revealing, Logan. It's just black. Basic."

"Whatever you say..."

"Look, I don't have time to get into this right now. I'm having dinner with an old friend who just happens to be a guy and yes, I'm wearing a little, black dress, that in case you don't realize is a necessity in every girl's closet according to 'Cosmopolitan' that I just happen to occasionally read and sometimes take advice from. Deal with it."

She continued with the last minute preparations as she walked into the livingroom and grabbed her long, black coat from the couch and searched its pockets for her keys that she hadn't been able to find for a while now. No luck.

"Can I borrow your keys for tonight?" She asked, turning to her soon-to-be husband.

Logan didn't respond, but got his keys from his pocket and threw them in her direction. She caught them.

"Do I know him?"

"Do you know where my black scarf is? I'm telling you if my head hadn't been attached to my body..." She tried to avoid the question.

"I'm asking you something, Rory." Logan continued, his voice a little more serious now.

Rory took a deep breath as she entered the hallway and found her scarf hanging from the sleeve of her other jacket. Right where she had left it.

"I suppose you do. Jess. Jess Mariano."

She stood still in the hallway for a few seconds, waiting for his reaction, but it didn't come. So she entered the livingroom once again where Logan was standing with his hands in his pockets and his gaze on her.

"I don't want you to go." He simply said.

The expression on his face wasn't even mad or controlling or anything like that. It was vulnerable. Vulnerable and maybe a little disappointed.

"Why not?"

"For obvious reasons."

"It's just dinner."

"With Jess."

"Who's an old friend."

"Ex-boyfriend you mean."

"That too. But above anything, an old friend who I haven't seen in years and the two of us have some catching up to do."

"Fine. I'll come with you."

"No, Logan."

"Why not? It's just catching up, right? I might even be helpful. Fill in some of the blanks, since I've been the one by your side for the past years."

Rory put on her scarf and walked up to the couch once again to take her coat and put it on.

"It's a very bad idea and you know it. Besides, I'm sure Jess only made reservations for two people."

"What? You two talked about how you weren't supposed to bring me with you? That it was a private dinner? Just the two of you? Or didn't you even tell him that you're still with me? Engaged to me even."

"Of course I told him, Logan! And don't be like this! You know, it never stops to amaze me that the only time you bring up our engagement is when it's convenient to you. The other 99 percent of the time you seem to really take pleasure into denying that fact and pretending it isn't there."

"What's that supposed to mean, Rory?"

"It's supposed to mean just that. And if you'll excuse me now, I'm already late."

"Right. Can't keep your Prince Charming waiting."

Rory shook her head in disbelief as she turned to Logan.

"Don't wait up..."

With that she walked into the hallway and opened the frontdoor. She hesitated for only a second, but then stepped outside into the cold and closed the door behind her. In a way she felt relieved.

-x-x-x-x-

Her eyes immediately found him, even in the dark, crowded restaurant. Almost as if they were drawn to him. As if it was impossible for her not to see him. He hadn't noticed her yet as she walked up to the table where he was sitting.

"Sorry, I'm late." She started.

He looked up, with that irresistible smirk decorating his familiar face.

"Fashionably late, I think it's called." He corrected her.

"Nah. Just boy-trouble." She smiled as she sat down across from him.

"Huh. He wasn't okay with the 'having dinner with an old friend'-scenario?"

"No, that scenario he could live with. The part where the old friend turns out to be an ex-boyfriend who he doesn't like kind of complicated things."

Jess chuckled.

"Yet, you're here."

"He's my fiancée, not my prison guard."

She took off her coat (it now occurred to her that she probably should've done that while standing up) and hung it over the back of the chair. As she turned back she found him staring at her. She remembered that stare from a long time ago. More specifically from the time where she had been tutoring him and he thought she wasn't looking. Back then he had also given her this look. A look that basically said everything that had to be said.

"Have you ordered yet?" She broke the silence.

Jess shook his head.

"Don't know what you like."

"Yes, you do." She told him, smiling.

"Well, I did, six years ago. But I wasn't sure if the 'I eat everything as long as it's either fried or sugarcoated and incredibly unhealthy'-rule still applied."

"It does. Always has, always will."

"I'll remember that."

Her all-saying smile made up for the all-saying silence that followed.

-x-x-x-x-

Together they walked the empty, dark streets with nothing by midnight noises surrounding them. It was late, very late. After they'd had dinner together they basically just decided to start walking. It didn't even matter where to, because they weren't paying attention anyway. Not to their surroundings that was. The one thing they were paying attention was... each other. Clichéd, but true.

"God, the drama back then!" Rory exclaimed as she laughed and turned to Jess.

Jess nodded.

"I know. Especially with all of Stars Hallow paying attention to our every move."

"Yeah. It's amazing how everybody else always knew things about us before we did."

"It's amazing how many memories we have, even after all this time." Jess corrected her.

"Well, like I said: there was a lot of drama! Nobody forgets about the drama. And you'd think it gets easier when you're older, but tough luck."

Jess didn't respond to that, but Rory didn't mind. She knew what he was thinking. He was thinking that 'drama' is never a good sign, so if she was meant that there was drama with Logan, then maybe he wasn't right for her. Then maybe she wasn't supposed to be with him.

"There's always drama, Jess." She started to defend herself. "Not just with me and Logan."

"I didn't say anything about that."

"But you were thinking it."

Jess gave her an all-saying look.

"I know you." She shrugged.

"Even after all this time?"

"Even after all this time."

He nodded, while smirking as they continued to walk into the direction of Rory's apartment. They didn't speak for a change. They didn't really have to. Silence had always been a part of their relationship.

After about ten minutes Rory stopped walking and looked up at the big building they were standing in front of.

"We're here." She announced.

Jess looked up at the fancy building.

"Impressive."

"Not really."

"I bet it's only one step away from golden doorknobs."

"It's not that impressive." Rory defended herself, for some reason feeling emberrassed for living in such a nice building.

"It's a nice neighborhood. Not really my thing, but..."

"It's not really my thing either." Rory confessed. "The people here are spoiled rich and snobby."

"You own an apartment here?"

"Logan does. Or his father. He owns the entire second floor."

"Impressive really does seem to be the keyword tonight." Jess joked.

Rory didn't respond to that. She searched her purse for her key (not even her own) and looked up at Jess once she found it.

"Wanna come up for a sec?"

"Right. As if Logan would allow me to even set foot in his apartment. Oh no, sorry. His daddy's apartment."

Rory couldn't help but smile.

"Don't be mean." She ordered him, smiling. "Logan won't even be there. I know him. He's not the kind to sit at home on the couch and watch TV all by himself. Whenever I go out without him he feels like he's obligated to go out too."

"You are aware that it's almost three in the morning?"

"Trust me, he won't be home until dawn. It's his way of getting back at me."

"Real mature."

Rory decided wisely to keep her mouth shut about his last comment, but she did give him a questioning look.

"My offer will only stand for another 30 seconds."

"You want me to build up the tension and count down until the last three seconds before giving you an answer?"

Rory loved to see the playful look on Jess' face. Mostly because she hadn't seen it all that often. The Jess she remembered was usually very serious and even when he wasn't, his eyes always were.

"Huh. Building up the tension would insinuate that I actually care if you come up or not."

"Don't pretend you don't. You're a bad liar. Always have been."

"And you suck at building up the tension, because I already know you're gonna come up."

"Huh."

"Let's just call it even and go inside where it's warm."

-x-x-x-x-

A/N: Okay, so this chapter probably wasn't all that interesting, but I'm somewhat pleased with it. Chapter three is already written and ready to be updated, so I'll do that in a few days (hopefully, if my internet doesn't die again).

Reviews are, as always, very much appreciated:)


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. It's sad, really.**

**A/N: Sorry for the delay! Thanks for the amazing reviews!**

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 3

Jess sat down on the couch and made himself as comfortable as possible (which wasn't all that) as he looked around the fancy apartment. It was everything that he thought it would be. Rich and snobby as Rory described it just now. There was a fireplace and fancy, classical furniture, marble floors, chic curtains, chandeliers and so much more. He smiled when he saw the bright colored, fluffy photo frames on the side table next to him. It was good to see there was also a little bit of Rory in the apartment. He wasn't a big fan of the photos in the frames though. Seeing Rory all cozy and in love with that Logan guy didn't really put him in the best of moods.

It wasn't long before Rory entered the livingroom holding two bottles of beer and an opener. She sat down next to Jess on the couch and handed him the beer.

"Here."

"Thanks."

She took off her shoes and curled up on the couch.

"So what do you think?" She asked him, nodding to her surroundings.

"It's not really you." He honestly confessed.

"How would you know that? Maybe that's the person I've become."

"Sounds believable, but then I saw the fluffy photo frames."

Rory smiled as she took a sip from her beer.

"Busted." She confessed.

Jess laughed softly as she sat back and watched her. She noticed and shyly looked away.

"Don't look at me like that." She ordered him.

"Like what?"

"Like the way you are right now."

He smirked, but didn't stop looking for at least another minute. Then his gaze moved to the impressive-looking bookcase standing behind the couch against the wall. Rory noticed.

"You can go and take a look." She offered. "You know you want to..."

Jess did as he was told. He got up from the couch, put his beer on the table (Rory quickly put a coaster underneath the bottle) and walked up to the classical wooden bookcase that was completely filled with books. Rory had even stacked them on top of each other. There was no way another book would ever fit in here. At first glance he recognized the titles of all the books in there and he'd also read almost all of them and the ones he hadn't read yet, he wasn't really interested in. Then he noticed the first eight books on the highest shelf. They were his. The fact that there were eight was quite impressive, since he had only published four so far. He quickly came to the realization she had two copies of all four books. He took the two copies of his first book out and noticed how one of them had obviously been read from cover to cover many times, while the other was still in a perfect state and probably hadn't even been opened once. He turned to Rory and held up the books.

"Explanation?"

Rory smiled as she got up and walked to him. She took the copies he was holding from his and looked at them.

"One is for reading and one is for display only."

"Right. And this makes sense how?"

"They're special, Jess. To me anyway. I don't want the book to be all worn-out and hanging together by practically nothing. However, that makes reading it pretty hard, so therefore buying two copies is the perfect solution. This way I can read your books as many times as I like, but still have one in a perfect state."

Jess liked this explanation. Sure, it was crazy in that typical Gilmore way, but he liked the idea. He liked that she thought what he wrote was special, since he didn't necessarily agree. He just wrote whatever popped into his head an although there had been more people who'd told him that what he wrote meant something, the only person that he actually wanted to care was Rory and now it turned out that she did.

"Oh and I want to ask you something." Rory added, looking up at him, smiling.

"Good." He said. "I want to ask you something too."

"Well, it's my house, so I get to go first."

"Of course." Jess agreed, smirking.

"I know this probably sounds crazy, but...could you take your books and write notes in the margins the way you used to?"

"You want me to write notes in my own books?" Jess asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Too weird?"

Jess saw Rory's questioning face. She probably had no idea how irresistible she looked right now. Her eyes were the perfect shade of blue and more beautiful than ever before.

"No." He then said. "I'll do it. But only if I get to write in the good copies. The ones that are only for display."

"You're evil."

"Take it or leave it." His simple response was.

Of course Rory didn't even have to think about it as she walked up to the bookcase and got out her good copies of his books and handed them to him.

"Enjoy." She told him.

"Oh, I will." He said, obviously amused.

"So, what did you want to ask me?"

Jess cleared his throat. He was actually a bit nervous about asking her this. It had popped into his head just this afternoon after seeing Rory again after such a long time and even though he knew it was a great idea, he was still a little nervous that she would turn him down.

The couple sat down on the couch once again and Jess turned to Rory.

"I know you're probably way too busy to even consider this, but I just have to ask you this. Feel free to say no and you shouldn't feel obligated to do it, but I would just like you to consider it."

He looked at her.

"I need a new editor. My current one is...not right. And you are. To edit my books, I mean. You would be anyway."

"You want me to edit your books?" Rory asked, surprised.

Jess nodded.

"It would really mean a lot to me."

Rory had no idea how she was supposed to react to that. It sounded like a wonderful idea and even though she was indeed busy with her editing work at the paper and the editing work she did for other writers, she knew that editing Jess' book would be great publicity, since he was becoming such a popular writer. Plus, she was a huge fan of his writing. Not just because he was who he was, but simply because his books were brilliant. Editing them was like a dream come true. However, this meant working closely together with him on a regular basis. She could already imagine the look on Logan's face when she told him this. However, Logan was also very supportive of her job and this was really was a great opportunity. Maybe he wouldn't think it was such a big deal. Maybe he'd be okay with it. Maybe...

"I'd love to." She quickly decided as she looked up at Jess.

"You can just decide that right now?"

"Yes, I can." She nodded. "I mean, we're gonna have to work some stuff out and maybe you'll even hate my editing skills, but...I would love to give it a try."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

The two smiled at each other and locked eyes. Rory wasn't sure how she felt about the sudden feeling of home she got while she was sitting here with him. She knew she wasn't supposed to feel this way. Especially not around him. He was Jess. Just Jess. Her teenage love who'd broken her heart. But she'd recovered and she'd been able to forget about him. Right? Sure, they'd just spent a really great evening together, but that didn't mean anything now did it? It couldn't mean anything.

-x-x-x-x-

"I'm really glad that we got to catch up and see each other again." Rory professionally told Jess as they were standing by the apartment door as Jess was ready to leave.

He already had his coat on and Rory wasn't exactly comfortable with the lack of space that was between them in the small hallway. Jess noticed of course and she just knew that he was going to do something that would make her feel even more uncomfortable. Just because he could.

"How glad?" Jess asked, a playful look on his eyes as he moved even closer to Rory and they locked eyes.

"Don't." Rory warned him, aware of his intentions, fearing that she might not be able to resist.

"Don't what?" Jess asked as he slowly started to lean in.

Rory felt how her heart started to beat faster with every inch he moved closer to her. She tried to deny it and pretend it wasn't there, but it was the truth. He still got to her, even after all these years.

"Don't whatever you're about to do." She managed to say.

"You're really gonna stop me?"

"Yes, I will." Rory softly whispered, but it didn't sound too convincing.

Jess leaned in more and more and a smile appeared on his face. Rory knew she should stop him and she really wanted to, but for some reason she was glued to the floor and felt like she couldn't move. When their lips almost touched, she closed her eyes. Then she felt his lips on her cheek. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek, then whispered in her ear:

"I wouldn't dare to take advantage of an almost married woman."

Rory opened her eyes and smiled to herself. She took a deep breath as she turned to him. She tried to recover.

"Yeah, you're quite the gentleman."

"You gotta admit, I behaved pretty well tonight."

"Bye Jess." She said, smiling as she opened the door to let him out.

She knew he wasn't going to go without at least another one of his smart, witty, sarcastic remark, so she wasn't surprised that when she pushed him outside he turned to her again.

"You really would've let me, huh? Didn't think it was going to be that easy. I mean, I know I'm still irresistible and that I would've won you over eventually, but..."

"Go home, Jess." Rory said, not able to hide her amusement, even though she hated the fact that she had let him come so close and didn't do anything about it.

Jess stared at her for another second.

"Thanks for a really great night." He then said, suddenly serious as ever.

Rory nodded as she once again locked eyes with him.

"I'll have my secretary call you this week for an appointment about the editing."

"Your secretary, huh?"

"I'll have one of the ladies that work at the hotel pose as one to impress you."

"That just might work."

"I thought so." He said, smirking. "Bye Rory."

"Bye Jess."

-x-x-x-x-


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I'm poor. It's sad, really.

A/N: So sorry for the lack of updates lately, but you can't imagine how busy I've been. And you probably don't care either, so on with the story!

Thanks to all my great reviewers :D Especially to smile1 whose opinion means the world to me. Thanks, Lin.

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 4:

Rory vaguely heard a sound coming from the other end of the world that resembled her cell-phone, but she was too far lost in fairy-tale land to really pay attention to it. Her dreamworld was no doubt more interesting than whoever it was on the phone trying to reach her this early in the morning. Unless...

The ringing of the phone suddenly stopped and she heard Logan's voice as he answered her phone. This was enough to fully wake her up. After all, it could be Jess. The last thing she needed was Logan answering her phone when Jess was calling. She and Logan had just figured things out as far as Jess was concerned and he had already been pissed enough about it without her even telling about the whole editing-thing. She opened her eyes and turned on her side. The expression on his face told her enough.

"Morning..." She mouthed to him, but he barely gave her a look as he handed her the phone.

"Who is it?"

Logan didn't respond, but just dropped the phone on the bed when she didn't take it from him fast enough and got up. He walked in the direction of the bathroom. He was obviously mad. As usual.

"Logan..." She sighed.

This was not a good way to wake up. Not a good way at all. She tucked her hair behind her ear and took the phone from the bed.

"Jess?"

"Didn't mean to get you into trouble." His voice sounded on the other end of the line. "And I didn't mean to wake you up either."

"Well, somehow you managed to do both." She said, chuckling a little.

She wasn't mad at Jess. It wasn't his fault. At all.

"Not mad?"

"Of course not. Although, since when is calling at 8 in the morning on a Saturday allowed?"

"It's not. It's the little badboy inside of me that still tends to show his face every now and then."

Rory laughed, but quickly toned it down when Logan came out of the bathroom and grabbed his shirt and jeans from the floor. He didn't even bother to give Rory as much as a glare as he exited the bedroom.

"Where are you going?" Rory yelled after him.

"I don't know. Maybe go see a really hot ex-girlfriend."

"Well, have fun, honey." She said, sarcastically, anger boiling up inside of her.

"You want me to call back later?" Jess asked on the phone.

Rory heard how Logan opened the frontdoor and left the house. Of course he made sure to leave an impression as he closed the door behind him accompanied by a sound that probably woke up the entire neighbourhood.

"No, it's okay. He's gone." She said, softly.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. It's just...We had just figured things out and things were just getting somewhat normal between us again and now..."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. Well, you did kind of cause it, but...Look, Jess, I'm not so sure anymore about the whole editing-thing. I mean, I really want to do it and I think it would be really great to work with you, but Logan is already reacting this way now and I haven't even told him yet. He'll freak out and I'm just not sure it's worth it."

It remained silent on the other end of the line for a little while.

"Jess?"

"Yeah, I'm still here." Jess said. "And I understand you're reacting the way you are right now, but...can't we meet up today and talk about it?"

"Jess..."

"I promise I won't try to convince you to do it anyway. I just want to share some stuff with you and hear your opinion. That's all. Promise."

"Wow. A promise by Jess Mariano. How much are those worth again?" She asked, smiling.

"More than they were six years ago. Trust me, I've grown up a little."

Rory smiled to herself. For the first time she really believed that. He had changed. Quite a bit even. And only for the good. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. More than anything, it was confusing.

"I don't know if I can do this to Logan." Her weak resistence was.

"It's a business meeting, Rory."

"True..."

"So I'll see you in an hour in that diner at the end of your street for breakfast?"

"An hour?!"

"No time like the present. See you in a bit."

"Jess!"

He had already hung up the phone.

"Evil..." She murmured to no one in particular.

-x-x-x-x-

About an hour later (fine; almost an hour and a half. Sue her.) Rory entered the diner where she was supposed to meet Jess. She knew he would already be there, since she was kind of late and she searched for him in the busy crowd. She wasn't surprised to find him in the back in one of the dark, quiet corners. He was like that. Besides, it was a nice place to talk quietly and have some privacy. He spotted her too and their eyes locked even though they were on opposite sides of the diner. She tried to smile. He didn't, but his eyes showed that he was happy to see her. She started to make her way towards him, something resembling nerves forming inside of her. She wasn't necessarily nervous because of Jess, but more of what this meeting would do to her. She was nervous about what he wanted, expected, longed for. He'd told her that he wanted her back and she was afraid to hurt his feelings or give him false hope. He didn't deserve that. He just didn't.

"Not even thirty minutes late. That's gotta be some kind of record."

"I deserve a medal." Rory nodded as she sat down across from his and took off her coat.

"Don't know about that, but at the very least you deserve a stack of pancakes."

"Even better."

He smiled as he handed her the menu that she started to study intensely. It seemed easier than having to look at Jess and deal with things.

"Hope I didn't get you in too much trouble just now."

She knew he was referring to the Logan situation. She answered him without looking up from the menu.

"Let's just say that for some reason you're a very sensitive subject in Logan Huntzberger's world. And unfortunately, I live in that world too."

"Yet, you're here."

"You didn't give me much of a choice." Rory said, lightly looking up and smiling at Jess.

"You always have a choice, Rory."

Rory easily picked up on the hidden, way more serious, message in his words. It was the last thing she wanted to hear right now. She knew that she was now officially doing things behind Logan's back and even though they were currently fighting and things had been everything but perfect between them lately, it didn't feel good. She didn't want to lie or hide things from him. Especially not when it came to Jess, because the things that were happening with Jess were actually significant. They meant something to her. Maybe more than they should. And somehow lying about it to her fiancée gave it even more meaning.

"Let's not do this right now." She said, softly. "I already feel bad enough as it is."

Jess nodded slowly, the expression on his face serious as ever.

"Maybe I should try cheering you up then."

She carefully looked up at him and their eyes met. She smiled unconvincingly.

"What am I gonna do about you, Mr. Mariano?"

"That would be the million dollar question."

His answer didn't make her feel any better.

-x-x-x-x-

The small diner table was covered with sheets of paper. Most of them were written on, either with a pen or completely typed out. To outsiders it would look like a complete mess, but there was a system. A system only Rory and Jess were aware of.

"This is amazing..." Rory sighed, looking up at Jess.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "I hate to admit it, but you're pretty much brilliant."

"I'm stunned you can actually tell by just reading a few sheets of paper. All of them from a different scene, from probably a different book, some of them written in my horrible handwriting, most only half finished and all of them pretty much senseless."

"You seem to forget that I'm just about equally brilliant."

"Right." Jess said, smirking. "My bad."

"And my brilliantness tells me that this is absolutely amazing. Trust me, I might be young and beautiful, but I've done quite some editing in my life and therefore I've seen my share of inexperienced authors showing me their first drafts and while a few of them were slightly impressive, none of them were this brilliant."

"Did you just call me brilliant and inexperienced in one sentence?"

"You get my point. It's a compliment, don't ruin it."

Jess didn't respond to this. He checked his watch. They had been sitting here for hours now, reading, discussing, talking, sharing, laughing. It had been pretty nice and Jess was sure that he'd been able to distract her from Logan for at least a while. His gaze moved back to the perfect woman sitting right in front of him. He couldn't believe that he still felt this way about her after all these years. As far as he was concerned, nothing had changed. She was still perfect and he had a hard time trying to contain himself around her.

"So, are you tempted?" He asked her, looking her in the eye.

"Tempted?"

He looked down at the at the papers scattered all over the table.

"To edit this mess?"

Rory hesitated.

"Tempted, yes." She admitted. "But I can't do it."

Jess tried to hide his disappointment, but he understood her. He really did. And in some way it made him fall for her even more, because it showed her integrity and loyalty. She couldn't do this to Logan. It was as if Jess only now realized that this situation was so much more different from the situation years ago when she had been dating Dean and he had been convinced he could steal her away from him. Of course, he eventually succeeded and maybe that's why he'd been taking the situation so lightly. He'd figured he would just do the same thing all over again. But now he saw that Logan wasn't Dean. That Rory was no longer in her teens, just dating a guy. This was so much more serious. She was engaged, in love probably and even though he had pretty easily managed to charm his way back into her life, this was only the beginning. Rory wasn't just going to give in. She wasn't just going to give up her life to be with him. He knew Rory, she wouldn't just accept a man's proposal. For some, to him unknown, reason she really loved Logan and although she had already admitted to also loving him, he knew he had disappointed her a few too many times to already be tempting her to be with him once again. He had to give it time, win back her trust and take it one step at the time.

"Fair enough." He spoke, looking at Rory. "I understand. I can't force you, I guess."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Please, don't be." He told her. "But you can't blame a guy for trying."

He started to grab the papers on the table and bundled them together, officially messing up the system. Rory helped him, their hands touching a few times in the process. Suddenly Rory came across a familiar looking invitation. Jess noticed.

"Don't know how that got in here." He said. "I guess I'm not the most organized of people."

Rory read the invitation once more and smiled.

"I'm so happy for them." She said as she handed Jess the invitation back. "It's finally happening."

"About time." Jess simply said.

"So, I assume you're going then?"

"You think Luke actually leaves me choice? Trust me, there was violence and bribing involved. He even came up with some pretty ugly threats. He arranged a flight and everything."

"Is that the only reason? I mean, he's your uncle and I know you'll never admit, but you're crazy about him. And he's getting married...that means something."

"It does. Of course it does. And I wouldn't miss it for the world, but I've got a reputation to hold up, you know?" He joked.

Rory smiled.

"Did he make you best man?"

"He threatened to seat me next to Miss Patty if I said no. Being best man seemed to be the lesser of two evils."

"And you secretly love it."

"No, I appreciate the gesture." Jess corrected Rory, which caused her to laugh.

Jess looked up at her.

"You're maid of honor?"

"Of course." Rory nodded. "I would've killed her otherwise."

"Understandable. And Logan is your date?"

"Who else?"

Jess nodded as he put the papers back in his bag and turned to Rory.

"And here I was thinking that the best man and maid of honor should be in contact and arrange stuff for the wedding, but the wedding is only a week away and somehow everything was arranged without us."

"Well, my mom had me arrange some stuff, but the things that the best man and maid of honor usually arrange together..."

"They did a very good job at subtly keeping us apart." Jess stated, smiling.

"I'm sure they were only looking out for us."

Rory smiled at the idea. Her mother didn't want to confront her with her (in Lorelai's opinion) evil ex-boyfriend and probably went out of her way to make sure Rory never had to be in contact with Jess. That was sweet. Sort of. Completely unnecessary, but still sweet.

"The only reason I agreed to be best man is because Luke promised me I wouldn't have to do anything, but show up. I figured that was a promise I could easily keep."

"For some reason I didn't even know Luke had picked you as his best man. I never even asked either."

"And it never even occured to me that you were of course going to be maid of honor."

"Caught up in our own lives much?" Rory joked.

Jess smirked. She was right. He'd been really happy for Luke when he got the news and it really was about time for those two to tie the knot, but he hadn't really been involved with the wedding. At all. And he knew Luke didn't expect him to. It just wasn't his thing. Now he kind of regretted it. After all, it would've meant spending time with Rory.

"Well, I guess we can make up for that at the wedding. We'll probably be spending a lot of time together then." Rory continued. "Dancing together at the wedding reception and everything."

"What?!" Jess exclaimed, laughing, but only half-kidding.

"It's tradition. The best man and maid of honor share a dance. God, I'm sure Logan is gonna love that."

"Well, he doesn't have to worry about it. I'm not gonna dance."

"Oh yes, you will." Rory said, smiling.

"Not gonna happen." Jess smirked.

"You're gonna break with tradition?"

"I told you, I'll show up for the wedding and that's it. I'll put on a clean shirt and I'll try to smile and look pretty during the ceremony, but that's all you're going to get out of me."

"I'll get you on that dancefloor Dodger, even if it means I have to die trying." Rory assured him, chuckling softly as she noticed Jess' determined expression. He was so stubborn. Always had been. It was annoying, yet somehow also part of his charm.

"Dodger." Jess repeated. "Haven't heard that one in a while."

Rory wasn't sure how to respond to that. She remembered calling him Dodger so many years ago. Back when they were only getting to know each other. It brought back memories she had been trying so hard to suppress for the last couple of days. She simply couldn't go there. It would complicate things. Even more.

She looked at him. She stared into his dark, captivating eyes and suddenly felt seventeen again. Back then she had been completely infatuated with him. Everything about him had been so intriguing and exciting and new. Like he knew things and had seen things she could only dream about. And truth be told, she still felt that way. Jess would always be fascinating and in some ways dangerous. She knew that with him there would never be a dull moment.

"What are you thinking right now?" Jess' serious question suddenly sounded.

"Something I shouldn't." She simply answered him.

Jess nodded a little.

"It's still there." He stated.

"It can't be there." She blurted, sounding somewhat desperate.

"You can't help what you feel."

Rory sighed.

"It's too late, Jess."

"Too late for what?"

"For us. I can't just throw my life away to... be with you or whatever it is that you want."

"I want you to be happy. That's all."

She shook her head.

"I wish it was that simple..."

-x-x-x-x-

A/N: Please, review! I'll try to update asap!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. In general. Not just Gilmore Girls-related. Really, I'm poor. It's sad.**

**A/N: Another update! And once again somewhat soon-ish, right? Anyway, I'm back. It's Lorelai and Luke's wedding day (just the way it should be. I like Christopher, but...pfff...he's no Luke!) and of course Rory and Jess are going to cross paths. And yes, I even threw in a little Logan/Rory/Jess moments. **

**Uhm, I stole a few lines from a few authors and other famous people for the speeches. I guess the Shakespeare-line Jess used is well-known, but he had to say something, right? And I think it's believable that Jess would quote good old Billy.**

**Thanks for all the amazing reviews!**

**Hmmm...anything else? Nope. Just enjoy!**

-x-x-x-x-

Rory smiled when Logan reached out to her hand as they were walking in the direction of Luke's diner. Things had been pretty eventful between them the past week, but she had decided to be open and honest about everything that had happened regarding Jess and Logan seemed to appreciate it. Of course she had left out the part where Jess wanted her back and he was messing her up feelings, but she figured telling Logan that part would make her pretty much dateless for today's events and possibly even single. That was the last thing she wanted. Besides, she hadn't spoken to Jess since that day in the diner about a week ago and she didn't even care. Not really. It was nice having Jess around, but things were easier when he was gone. She didn't need him. What would she need him for? He was nobody. An old friend. Just Jess. It didn't matter. Things were better this way. They had to be.

"You nervous?" Logan asked.

"No. Just excited." She told him. "It's about time."

Logan smiled at her as they entered Luke's diner. The place was crowded and the second they walked into the door everybody turned to them and started talking excitedly. The wedding wasn't for a couple of hours and Rory had decided to go check on Luke (she had already checked on her mom. It wasn't pretty.) who was getting ready in the upstairs apartment of the diner. Of course the entire town had gathered in the small diner. Every single one of them seemed psyched and beyond excited. Rory liked the sight. This was the way it should be.

"Oh, sugar." Babette started as she walked up to the couple. "I'm so happy! I've been waiting for this day for so long! How's she doing?"

"She's nervous, but she's okay." Rory assured her.

Logan gave her a reassuring squeeze in her hand as it became obvious that just about every town member had something to say to Rory. She just smiled and listened to Kirk as he summed up a chronological list of occurences between Luke and Lorelai over the years. It was freakishly detailed. And she even laughed at some of Miss Patty's embarrassing anecdotes and listened patiently to Taylor's long, boring ones. Then she turned to the counter and came face to face with...Jess. He had already noticed her and had been observing her from the corner of his eyes while serving everybody coffee. This hadn't stayed unnoticed by Logan who was already umcomfortably shifting and giving Jess the dead glare whenever he could. Jess and Rory locked eyes, oblivious to Logan's disapproval.

"Let's order some coffee." Rory suddenly said to Logan and pulled him with her to the counter.

There were only two empty seats at the counter. Rory sat down excitedly. Logan sat down next to her, but it didn't seem voluntarily.

"Wow." Rory said. "Deja vu."

"Goodmorning to you too." Jess said, smirking a little as he immediately poured Rory a cup of coffee. "Here you go."

"Thanks."

"Coffee?" Jess asked Logan, hardly even looking at him.

"No." Logan responded. "Thanks."

Rory took a sip from the coffee and smiled at Jess.

"I've missed this." She said. "The coffee, I mean. It's been at least six years."

"Longer." Jess said.

"What are you talking about?" Logan asked, a little annoyed. "You've had three cups of coffee when you woke up this morning."

"Only three?" Jess frowned teasingly.

"I don't mean coffee in general." Rory started, ignoring Jess. "I mean..."

"Coffee by Jess. I get it." Logan said.

This was going to be a long, long day.

-x-x-x-x-

"Mom, Luke, I can't believe how surreal it feels to be standing here today. I guess I've always known it would happen eventually, but now the day has finally come, it feels like it can't be true. Luke, you know I love you and you've been so good to my mom and to me that I can actually forgive you for stealing away my mommy and my best friend."

The guests laughed and Rory paused until the laughing faded out.

"I need you to do something for me though: take my mom's hand and place your hand over hers. Now, remember this moment and cherish it...knowing my mom, this'll be the first and the last time you'll ever have the upperhand. But that's okay, because I see the love you both have in each other's eyes and as your love grows for one another, I hope you look back on this day and know that this is when you loved each other the least. I was there to watch the two of you grow in love and grow closer with every passing day and to be standing here today fills me with joy. And I just know this love is everlasting."

Everybody followed Rory's example as she raised her glass to the Newlyweds. She mouthed an 'I love you' to her mother, before smiling at Luke and sitting down again where she felt Logan's warm hand on her knee as he whispered in her ear.

"Beautiful."

Rory smiled at him. After a short silence the huge gathering got back to their conversations. Quietly at first, but louder with every passing minute. Lorelai and Luke gave each other sickeningly happy looks, but it wasn't that what Rory was looking at. It was Jess. And Jess gladly returned the stare.

"What?" He asked, laughing.

"You know what." She told him, nodding to the happy couple.

"No, I don't."

"Your speech."

"Is non-existing."

"Jess!"

"You had one. It was beautiful. Let's move on."

"Jess!"

"Oh, come on, Rory."

"Look, you're good with words, okay? Just make something up. Put on a smile on the faces of the happy couple."

"As if they aren't sickeningly happy and in love as it is."

"Please, Jess..."

They locked eyes and that was all it took. Her eyes were blackmail to him. They always had been. He sighed.

"I can't believe you got me to do this." He said as he took his glass from the table and got up.

"What'd you do that for?" Logan asked Rory, not understanding.

"It's tradition." Rory shrugged. "And he is good with words and this a good occassion to show it to the rest of the world."

"Because publishing books doesn't?" He asked, bitterly.

Jess couldn't help, but smile just a little overhearing the tiny little argument between Logan and Rory. Not because he liked it to see them fight, but because it was in some way nice to know that he was still a sore subject. He got his knife from the table and gently ticked it against his glass. This got the attention of the guests and the happy couple. Both Lorelai and Luke raised an eyebrow as they realized what miracle was about to take place.

"Uncle Luke…can't believe I'm actually calling you Uncle Luke when I'm not even trying to piss you off...Lorelai, sorry, can't bring myself to putting aunt in front of that, but you'd hate that anyway, so...I'm not one for sentimental speeches and quotations on true love, in fact I really didn't want to give a speech at all, but a very special someone once told me it'd be rude to break with tradition, so...here I am, looking at the two of you, trying to come up with something that doesn't sound silly or clichéd and I'm failing miserably. After all, I think it's more than obvious to every single person here that the two of you are meant to be and that today is only proof of something that most of us have known for years. So yeah, I could toss in a few anecdotes about your rocky path leading up to today; first kisses, first fights, break-ups and make-ups, but what's the point? I have nothing new to tell."

Jess looked around the crowded room, his gaze eventually resting on Rory who was sitting next to her mother, smiling at him and nodding approvingly when their eyes met, before turning back to the happy couple and raising his glass.

"May every day be happier than the last. Let's drink to love, which is nothing, unless it's divided by two. Oh, and to Luke: Always remember, if you're enough lucky to get to spend the rest of your life with a Gilmore, you're lucky enough."

It wasn't just Rory who easily picked up on the double meaning of Jess' last words. Jess and Rory locked eyes as he carefully sat down again, his eyes never leaving hers. Rory didn't know what to do or say and truth be told, she was scared to look at Logan who, no doubt, understood the meaning of Jess' words. Just as everyone did at the table and they were all (including Luke and Lorelai) anxiously waiting for what would happen. The expected fireworks didn't come though. Logan watched the scene between Rory and Jess play out before him, until he decided he'd had enough. He calmly placed his glass on the table, got up and started to exit the room. Rory was finally able to tear her eyes away from Jess' piercing ones as she got up to follow Logan.

"Rory..." Jess' voice sounded.

"Don't..." She told him, before looking at Jess one more time and walking off.

It remained silent at the table. It must have been an odd sight. The entire room was talking, laughing and partying, but at the most important table it was eerily quiet. Jess hesitated for a few seconds, before he got up.

"Excuse me." He said.

"Jess, I don't think..." Lorelai started.

"I'm sorry." He truthfully said as he looked at the older Gilmore. "I probably should've thought this out a little better. But I just have to go now."

"You should give her time." Lorelai said, looking Jess in the eye.

Jess realized that apparently Rory had discussed the situation with her mother, because the way Lorelai had just said those words went deeper than just the average 'you made a dumb comment and you should give her a little time before trying to talk to her about it'. He didn't know how to respond to this, so he just simply nodded. Then he walked off, hands in his pockets, trying to look like he didn't care, keeping up appearances.

-x-x-x-x-

Rory found Logan in one of the many rooms in the big building. He was sitting in a comfortable chair near a window, looking outside. He didn't even look up when she walked in.

"Logan..." She started.

"Well, at least you care enough to follow me." His bitter response was without even looking at her.

"Don't be ridiculous, of course I care." She said as she walked a little closer and stood still next to him, not sure how to stand or what to do with her hands.

"Great, so now I'm the one being ridiculous while your precious ex-boyfriend just declared his love for you for the entire world to see!"

"He didn't."

"He did, Rory. He did. I was there, remember?"

"He's just being Jess and he's trying to mess with me, with us. Please, don't think too much of it."

Logan suddenly looked up at her.

"Are you really telling me right now that what happened in there wasn't sincere? Are you really gonna me tell me that he didn't mean what he said? That he doesn't want you back? Because I have eyes, Rory. I saw what just happened."

Rory closed her eyes for a second, not at all sure what to say next. After all, she couldn't deny it. There was nothing she could say to assure him. Not without lying anyway. She brought her hand to her head as she carefully considered her answer. Then she heard the footsteps behind her and prayed it wasn't who she feared it was.

"Rory..." Jess' voice sounded.

She sighed.

"Go away, Jess...Please."

"No!" Logan's sarcastic voice suddenly sounded as he got up from his chair to face Jess. "Don't go, Jess. Stay. Honor us with your presence."

He turned to the comfy chair he'd been sitting in only seconds ago.

"In fact, take a seat and let me get you a drink, because the way I see it you have a little bedtime story to tell me. Both of you have." He said, now turning to Rory. "I think it's called: Rory & Jess: the early years."

"Logan..." Rory objected.

"I'm serious, Rory. I want to know. All of it. And not just your side of the story. I want to know about how you two met, the first conversation, the first kiss. I want to know it all."

Rory looked up at the blonde man standing in front of her. She felt for him. He wasn't perfect, but he didn't deserve this. She saw how hurt he was and she felt how tears were starting to form in her eyes. She tried to blink them away, but it wasn't working.

"Let's just go home, Logan. We'll talk about it at home, I promise."

Logan shook his head.

"I wanna hear this. I wanna hear this now." He told her.

Rory saw the determination in his eyes and she knew that she wasn't going to be able to change his mind. Her gaze moved to Jess who was who still standing in the doorway, looking defeated.

"I'm sorry." Jess said when he saw Rory was looking at him. "I didn't mean to..."

"Of course you didn't mean to." Rory said sarcastically. "You never do, right? Well, if you know everything so well, why don't you start, huh? Rory & Jess: the early years. Please enlighten me."

Jess sighed.

-x-x-x-x-

**A/N: Wow, a major cliffhanger here! I'm so mean! But uhm...I've already written the next chapter, so I'll update soon. Promise.**

**Please, review:-) **


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Don't own anything used in this story. Nothing's mine. I'm poor. It's sad. Song used in this chapter belongs to Michelle Featherstone.

A/N: So, you know how usually in TV-shows they end an episode with a cliffhanger and then when it continues the next week it's not at all what you wanted and/or expected and you feel disappointed? Yeah, well that's probably how most of you will feel after reading this chapter. No 'Rory & Jess: the early years' for now. Sorry. Hopefully it's still worth reading.

Thanks for the amazing reviews. I'm still surprised everytime I check for reviews. You're all so kind! Thank you.

-x-x-x-x-

Jess did the only thing he could do. The only thing he could think of. He walked away. To his surprise, neither one of the two people he was leaving behind in the small room tried to stop him. It was probably for the best though. He was walking away. Walking away for good. The look in Rory's eyes just now had told him everything he needed to know. He had tried, but failed miserably. It was over. For real this time. No more Rory & Jess. Ever again. He was going to leave her alone. Make it easy. Easier. He needed her to be happy and having him in her life made her everything but. So he was going to let her get back to her old life. Her own life. The life he wasn't a part of. God, it hurt.

-x-x-x-x-

"Rory…"

Logan's gentle tone surprised Rory, seeing as how angry he'd been this entire time, as she tore her eyes away from where Jess had been standing only seconds ago. She stared at her fiancée and tried to hide her tears. It was no good though. He noticed. She tried to smile at him. A small, simple smile. He walked up to her.

"I really do need to know." He said, softly reaching out to her hand. "He's getting to you and I need to know why."

She looked down at her hand in his.

"He's Jess." She shrugged. "He annoys the hell out of me, but…he's Jess."

"He's more to you than I'll ever be."

He had intended it to be a question, but it came out as a statement, surprising both himself and Rory.

She shook her head, trying to think of something she could say. She wanted to deny it. She really did, but…

"Do you know it's 22.8 miles from Stars Hollow to Yale?"

Logan frowned.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"He looked it up."

"Jess?"

"You wanted to know, right?" She asked, carefully looking up at Logan.

He hesitated for no more than a second. Then he nodded.

"I never knew exactly what was going on inside of his head. I knew him better than anyone, but he never opened up to me. Ever. So the 22.8 miles meant something. Something real. Not that I ever doubted that what we had meant something, but…"

She paused for only a second.

"He knows me…" She continued.

"I know you." Logan eagerly jumped in.

"You do." Rory agreed. "But you don't always know how I feel."

"Because you don't always tell me."

"Exactly. But Jess knows. He always knows. When I'm happy, when I'm down, when I'm pretending to be one of the two. He knows, Logan. And we never really got a chance to be what we could be. Back then he was…troubled, but now…"

"We are engaged." Logan suddenly said. "We've been together for years. And you are willing to throw that away over a teenage crush you once had?"

"You are wonderful, you know that?"

"Rory…" He sighed, getting a little annoyed.

"You are. And I love you, I really do. And I think you and I could be so happy together and could grow old together. Playing Bingo every other night at the community centre…I can see it happening."

"Bingo…?" Logan frowned, smiling a little as he tried to lighten the mood. "I bet we'd be way too much fun as old people to play bingo. We'd be the kind of old couple that goes scuba diving together."

"Even better." Rory nodded. "That'd be cool."

"But…?"

"Jess would always be there. In my head." She confessed, not even realizing how much truth there was to those words until they were out.

"And in your heart." Logan added, sighing.

Rory nodded slightly. That's when Logan let go of her hand.

"Goddamnit, Rory!" He let out, no longer able to hide his frustration. "Why didn't I know this? You've mentioned him before, but you never…"

"I didn't even always know myself!" Rory exclaimed. "I thought about him sometimes and wondered about the 'what if's', but…"

"You never told me about you two. You just mentioned an ex-boyfriend named Jess who left and hurt you. I thought that was it. Just an ex-boyfriend."

"I'm sorry." She responded.

What else to say, right? She could no longer stop the tears from streaming down her face. She wasn't sobbing just yet, but she knew she was going too soon and she didn't want Logan, or anybody, to be near when it happened. So, without a warning, without saying anything to Logan, without even ending the conversation they were having in a proper way, she turned around and left the room.

"Rory!" Logan yelled after her, the anger in his voice obvious. "Don't leave like this! You can't just do this!"

_Watch me,_ she thought. She ran off and left the building behind her. The building with the happy people, the love and the perfectness.

But she knew she couldn't stay away forever…

-x-x-x-x-

Jess was surprised when barely thirty minutes after leaving her and Logan behind, he saw Rory walking back over to the table. He figured she'd gone home. Either with or without Logan. It became obvious to him that she'd been crying, but she knew other people wouldn't be able to tell. He just knew her too well. And he also knew that she was keeping up appearances now. For her mom. Just like he was keeping up appearances. For Luke. She sat down and tried to smile at the people at the table, making sure to avoid Jess' worried gaze.

"You okay, sweetie?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah." Rory nodded, smiling. "Just fine. Logan went home early. A work-thing."

It was a lie and everybody knew it, but nobody dared to ask any further. Today was about Luke and Lorelai. The music started to play and it was time for the first dance of the evening. The happy couple got on their feet and did what they were expected to do. Michelle Featherstone's 'We're man and wife' played as both Rory and Jess focused on the newlyweds. They seemed happy. They were happy. Probably beyond happy. Ecstatic. Things were just complete with them. It all made sense.

For some reason they both looked at each other at the same time. It made both of them smile. They knew what they were supposed to do now as best man and maid of honor. He told her with his eyes that she didn't have to if she didn't want to, but she nodded slowly at him. It surprised him. Just like she always kept surprising him. He knew her so well, but at the same time he didn't know her at all. He got up from his seat and carefully walked up to her, his eyes never leaving hers. He held out his hand when he reached her. She didn't even hesitate to accept. He lead her to the middle of the dancefloor. She eagerly wrapped her arms around his neck, still looking him in the eye. He softly placed his hands on her back, a worried look in his eyes.

"I'm okay." She told him as they started to dance.

"No, you're not."

She didn't respond, but just slowly laid her head on Jess' shoulder. It felt so familiar, yet so new, but above all it gave her comfort. Comfort she needed so badly right now. Even from him. She was upset with him, but...he was Jess.

_You are the love of my life_

She closed her eyes and pretended to be somewhere else. Somewhere calm and quiet. Some place without drama. Where everything was as it should be. But how was it supposed to be? What was she going to do?

"I'm sorry." Jess whispered in her ear, referring to his unfortunate choice of words during his speech.

She didn't respond. She didn't have the strength to.

"I won't push you anymore." Jess said. "I won't. I'll let you be."

This got her to look up.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

_You are the love of my life_

"I don't want to see you upset, Rory. I'll leave you alone. It's for the best. I didn't see it before, but Logan loves you. A lot. And he's not a bad guy. He's right for you. I saw you two together today and…"

He didn't finish his sentence. He didn't know how to. But Rory nodded slowly. She understood what he was trying to say.

"I just told him that you'll always be in my head." She confessed.

His eyes flickered with surprise.

"And in my heart." She added, whispering.

_With you beside me  
I have won  
I'm glad I've waited for so long  
There is no doubt  
That you are the one for me_

They both listened to the lyrics of the song and smiled at each other.

"Ironic, huh?" He said.

"It's just a song…" She rationalized.

"…right…" He agreed.

"No pressure, okay?" She urged.

"No pressure." He promised.

She once again laid her head down on his shoulder. Jess almost immediately held on to her tighter. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her as close as he could. As if he was never going to let go. And in a way he wasn't going to.

"I got you to dance, Dodger." She suddenly spoke up.

Jess smiled to himself.

"Don't go around telling people."

"I won't." She promised, almost whispering.

_You are the love of my life_

-x-x-x-x-

A/N: So...yeah. This is it for now. Don't know when I'll update, since my life is pretty hectic right now, but I'll try to make it a fast one:-) Please leave your opinion!


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I'm poor. It's sad. Really. I owe my mom 200 bucks. It doesn't get any sadder than that.**

**A/N: So sorry for the delay! I can only offer you the 'I've been so busy'-excuse and I apologize for that too, because it's a stupid excuse and I've used it way too often.**

**Anyway, I'm back with a new chapter. I had such a hard time writing this. I had decided to go a certain direction with it and wrote about half a chapter, before ending up completely stuck and confused and inspiration-less. So that lasted for about three months and then I decided to start over and just back into it from somewhere else. So that's what I've done and it's completely different from my original idea, but it's here and it's finished and I'm sort of satisfied with it, so…there you go.**

**Oh yeah, I mention Tristan in this chapter. Only briefly and un-importantly, but I do. Hate it or love it, but it just had to be done, okay? He's Tristan. He's awesome. **

**Hopefully the next chapter won't take this long! Reviews are always a good motivation though. Hint ****hint****…**

-x-x-x-x-

**Chapter 7**

Rory sighed as she put the last box with her stuff in her mom's car. She looked up at the big building she was now leaving behind for good. She still couldn't quite get her head around everything that had happened these last few days. At this point she wasn't so sure about anything anymore and she hated that Logan didn't even have the decency to come and say goodbye to her.

"You okay, hun?" Lorelai asked as she wrapped an arm around her daughter.

Rory nodded slowly.

"He didn't even come to say goodbye, huh?"

She shrugged.

"Figures. Logan usually walks away when it get's hard."

"Hm, haven't I heard that one before?"

_Jess._

"Let's not mention him, now shall we? This is already hard enough without his part in all of it."

"And what exactly is his part?" Lorelai asked.

Rory thought about that for a second.

"I haven't exactly figured that out yet."

"Come on…" Lorelai said. "Let's go home."

-x-x-x-x-

Yup, she was going back to Stars Hollow. She was going back home to live with her mommy. She suddenly felt twelve again. She didn't see another option though. She couldn't stay with Logan. Not after everything that had happened lately. It wouldn't be right. He had officially called off the engagement. Because of the well-known Huntzberger name and Rory's current status as a popular editor it had even gotten some press in the papers and tabloids (with a picture and everything), which made it all even harder. The two of them had talked a lot the last few days, but it didn't really solve anything. In fact, it only complicated matters as they both came to the conclusion that they didn't know each other as well as they thought they did. Names of ex-boyfriends and girlfriends kept popping up that the other had never heard of (her list was pretty limited, but she threw names as Tristan DuGrey just to piss him off) and confessions from way back managed to shake things up. However, this did convince her that she had made the right decision. It wasn't an easy one, since she did love Logan a lot and she truly believed they could've been happy together, but she realized now that if some other guy was on her mind more than her own fiancée, then something was off.

"When are you leaving on your honeymoon again?" Rory asked her mother.

"Uhm…we don't really know yet…" Lorelai said, not looking at Rory, but paying attention to the road.

Rory's head shot up.

"You two had a date set, right? When Luke could close the diner for a while…"

"Yeah, well…we canceled it."

"You canceled your honeymoon? Why would you do that?"

"It turned out to be a lot harder to close the diner for a while and we just weren't comfortable with it. So…we'll go soon…eventually."

Suddenly it hit Rory.

"Oh God, you're staying home for me, aren't you?"

"No!" Lorelai exclaimed. "Absolutely not! It might have come up in the conversation at some point, but…no…the reason we've postponed it is the diner, I swear."

"Liar." Rory murmured. "You can't stay home for me! And you shouldn't. I'm fine."

"Honey…Logan broke off the engagement. Things are messed up for you right now. I should be there for you."

"Not at the expense of your honeymoon! I love having you around and yes I could use a shoulder to cry on right about now, but you can still offer me that shoulder when you come back! And besides, I have Lane back home. She'll take your place for a little while."

"I don't know…"

"Well, I do. Besides, it's even more perfect this way, because this way Luke doesn't even have to close the diner. Lane and I could run it. And Zack could help us out and we'd still have Ceasar."

"That's a bad idea." Lorelai said. "You should be at home, in your bed, wallowing. You shouldn't be working your butt off with no time to think about anything else than 'you want fries with that?' and 'Kirk, step away from the bacon! It's not yours!'. That's just wrong."

"Kirk going for bacon that isn't his?"

"No, you working your butt off in your condition."

"What am I? Pregnant?"

"Dear God, I hope not! That's the one thing that could make this situation even worse."

"Not helping, mom…" Rory sighed.

"Well, let me think about it for a little while, okay? I don't know if I'm comfortable with leaving you by yourself right now. Makes me feel like a bad mommy."

"If there's one thing you are not, it's that." Rory assured her. "And you know what? I wouldn't be comfortable with you staying for me. So there."

"So there?" Lorelai asked, looking at her daughter. "What does that mean?"

"So there. It's settled then." Rory explained.

"Because you say so?"

She nodded proudly.

"Yes. And you shouldn't argue with me in my condition. Your words, not mine."

Lorelai focused on the road again.

"I hate that big mouth of mine…" She murmured, causing Rory to smile a little.

-x-x-x-x-

This was hell. The exact definition of it even. And no, she wasn't talking about how she was feeling after her called off engagement to a certain blonde playboy. Here she was, walking the streets of Stars Hollow in the middle of the night. Well, not really the middle of the night, but it sure felt that way. It was still dark and she was the only one outside. And God, she was tired.

The feeling disappeared as soon as Luke's diner came in sight though. At first she though her sleepy eyes were deceiving her, but at the same time she knew very well they weren't.

Rory instantly recognized the figure sitting on the steps outside Luke's diner. Even in the dark it was pretty easy to make out who it was. The cigarette only made it more obvious. She approached him as quietly as possible. Not to startle him or anything, but… just to have the element of surprise.

"That's a nasty habit you've got there." She spoke.

His head shot up and their eyes met. She read in his eyes that he definitely hadn't expected her. Not at this time, not at this place. As usual, he quickly recovered.

"Some things never change."

"Got that right."

She sat down next to him and waved away the cigarette smoke that came in her direction. He smirked as he put the cigarette out.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

They sat like that for what must have been a few minutes. They didn't speak, didn't look at each other. They just sat. And it was nice. Comfortable.

"So, back in Stars Hollow, huh?" He broke the silence.

"Yep."

"Until your mom and Luke get back?"

She shrugged and shook her head.

"I don't know for how long. Probably longer than that. I have to find a place of my own. That'll probably take some time."

He knew better than to ask any further. He already had the information he needed. She had to find a place of her own. That meant she didn't have one right now. Meaning she was no longer living with Logan. Which made sense. He'd read the paper. Logan had called off the engagement. Maybe he shouldn't have bee so surprised to see Rory here.

"What about you?" She asked as she turned to him.

"Luke asked me to come and watch the diner while he's away."

"Yeah, me too." She responded. "Well, I offered to, but…you know. Thank him for giving me the heads up about you being here by the way."

"He didn't tell you?"

"Nope. Convenient, huh?"

"Sorry about that."

"It's okay. Not your fault."

Silence once again.

"Do you even have time to be here? Shouldn't you be out promoting books and everything?"

"I'm back to writing them. The way I like it. Promoting isn't my thing."

She nodded slowly.

"So, I guess we'll be working together then." She concluded.

"I guess so."

"Could be interesting…"

She looked up at him and tried to smile. He also looked up, but he didn't smile.

"I could go." He then said, serious as ever.

She immediately looked away and stared at the ground.

"I made a promise. I was going to leave you alone." He added.

Rory slowly got up from the steps and climbed them to the entrance of the diner.

"Well, maybe I don't want to be left alone." She casually said as she opened the door.

As she entered the diner she turned back to Jess.

"You coming, Dodger? We have a diner to run."

This time Jess smirked as he also got up.

"Yes, ma'am."

-x-x-x-x-

Rory tried to catch her breath before she headed back into the diner, holding the two pickle jars that she had just gotten from the storage room. She bumped into Jess and almost dropped the jars. Jess quickly grabbed a hold of her and the jars though and tried to get eye-contact with her.

"Sorry about that." He smirked, his hand still in a tight grip around her arm. "You okay?"

"Yeah, fine. And so are the pickles."

"Good. Is it always this hectic? I mean, I know I've been out of the loop for a few years, but I don't remember it ever being like this."

"Yeah, 'rush hour' will get a whole new meaning after today." Rory agreed. "I didn't even know so many people fit into the diner."

"They don't. They're now lining up in front of it." Jess said matter-of-factly.

Rory's head shot up.

"Since when!?"

"About two minutes."

"This is crazy!" She said, not unaware of the fact Jess was still holding on to her. "What are all those people doing here? I've never seen it this crowded here and I come here basically every day!"

"Come on, you know the reason. " Jess said. "Miss Patty spread the word all over town. It's like a free show. "

"Oh right." Rory nodded. "The sequel to Rory & Jess: the early years."

"Rory & Jess: together again." Jess added.

Their eyes met as soon as those words were out and they both understood the double meaning of them. Rory hated herself for not being able to look away, but his dark eyes had never been more captivating.

"Rory…" He softly said as he leaned in just a little. Just to be closer to her.

"This is not the right time." She interrupted him as she was finally able to look away. "We have tables to serve and pickles to slice."

She tried to find her way out of the storage room, but Jess was blocking it. He moves aside just a little to give her some room. Of course, it caused their bodies to touch as she left the room. It didn't make things easier.

-x-x-x-x-

Rory rested her head on the counter top and let out a frustrated sound.

"I can't do this for another two weeks!" She exclaimed. "I'd die! And I can't die! That'd be bad."

"Yes, it would be." Jess agreed who was cleaning up some last things behind the counter. "We can't have you dying and leave me behind with all the chaos."

"I appreciate your concern." She said as she threw him a fake smile.

The day had been impossible. People had been lining up in front of the diner to catch a glimpse of the new episode in the Rory & Jess saga. It had been crazy. Every single town member had given them some unwanted advice on how to move from here, making the day about twice as hard. Lane and Zack had just gone home and the diner was almost back to it's original, clean state.

"My feet are killing me!" She continued her own little complain-fest.

Jess walked over to where Rory was sitting at the counter and leaned over.

"I could carry you home." He offered, smirking.

"Don't tempt me…" She murmured as she looked up and smiled at him. "That's probably not a good idea."

"Suit yourself." Jess said as he went back to cleaning things behind the counter.

Rory watched him from her safe little spot at the counter and couldn't help but smile at the sight. Why did this feel so right? Why did it feel so right to be sitting here, watching Jess. Why did it feel so normal and why did it feel so like home?

She quickly shook off her serious thoughts and got up from her stool, ready to help Jess with whatever it was he was doing.

"You gotta admit though." She said. "We made a pretty good team today, Mariano."

"I think we always make a good team, Gilmore."

"Can I help you with anything?"

"No. It's pretty much done. Time for you to get your butt home."

"Don't talk about my butt!" She ordered him, smiling.

"Okay. I'll just think about it then." His smart-ass response was.

She shook her head in disbelief as she got her coat from one of the other stools and put it on. Once again she watched Jess from the corner of her eye as he placed the last few chairs on top of the tables, not noticing that Rory was watching his every move.

"Hey Jess…" She started.

He looked up.

"Walk me home?"

-x-x-x-x-


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I'm poor. It's sad.**

**A/N: A fast update! Who would've thought! I don't have much to say though, just that this chapter is probably the one you've all been waiting for, so….**

**Also, thanks for all the amazing reviews. They are what's keeping me motivated to write and without them I'd be nowhere. Really. So please, keep them coming. :)**

**Oh, and enjoy! I'm pretty sure you will…**

-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 8:

Not much later the two of them were sitting out on the Gilmore porch, drinking their beer. It was slowly getting dark and on top of that it was also extremely cold. They didn't mind though. They both had their coats on and for some reason this seemed to be the perfect place to be.

"You wanna talk about it?" Jess' unexpected question came.

"About what?"

"Logan."

Rory shook her head as she sipped her beer.

"There's not much to tell." She confessed. "He broke off the engagement for obvious reasons and therefore I moved out and moved back home. Simple as that."

"Simple in words, yes, but…"

"You know what?" Rory interrupted him. "I'm actually doing okay. I'm not as hurt and upset as I thought I would be. As I should be maybe even. I'm actually pretty much okay with the situation."

"I am sorry, you know." Jess suddenly said.

"Sorry? Why would you be sorry?"

"This wouldn't have happened if it hadn't been for me."

"Not right away, no." She agreed. "Then it would've gone on for a few more years and we probably would've gotten married and all that, but…we wouldn't have worked out in the end."

"So…in some messed up way I did you a favor?" He asked, looking Rory in the eye.

She immediately noticed the playful look on his face and hit him on the shoulder.

"Don't push it, mister!"

"I'm just saying…" His weak defense was as he carefully rubbed his shoulder where Rory had just 'playfully' hit him.

They both drank their beer in silence, staring ahead of them, enjoying each other's company.

"So strange to be sitting here with you." She eventually said. "I never thought it would ever be like this again."

"Like what again?"

She shrugged.

"This comfortable." Her simple answer sounded.

He didn't respond.

"I've changed, you know?" She suddenly spoke up. "A lot."

"I already got that." He told her. "The boat-stealing and dropping out of college already told me that much."

"Planning on marrying a snobby, rich kid." She added, a weak smile decorating her face.

"That too." He admitted.

"There's so much more you don't know."

He shifted in his seat as he placed his empty beer bottle on the floor and carefully turned to her.

"Then tell me." He said.

"I don't even know where to start."

"At the beginning is usually the best way." He joked.

She smiled.

"How about an affair with a married guy?" She began, carefully looking up at him, somewhat fearing his reaction.

He didn't respond right away as he stared back into those beautiful blue eyes, trying to figure out if she was kidding or not. Apparently not.

"You didn't…" He spoke up, a sly smile appearing on his face. "The virginal Rory Gilmore had an affair with a married man? Well, well, well…. And this is only the beginning? Are you sure I want to hear the rest?"

"That's not even all there is too it." Rory continued. "It wasn't just any married guy."

"Who was it? Do I know him?" Jess asked, almost excitedly.

She nodded slowly, smiling at Jess' enthusiastic reaction.

"It was Dean." She concluded.

Jess' eyes grew bigger as he stared at her in awe. He couldn't believe it.

"You and Dean…" He started.

"Yep."

"And he was married…"

"To Lindsay, yes. And I had an affair with him. Like it was completely normal, we snuck around behind everybody's back. Even my mom's back. I never even thought I could lie like that."

"And when did this happen?"

"After you'd left of course. A while after that."

"So he's the first guy you…"

"Yes." She interrupted him.

"God, you make bad choices." He said, laughing. "Bag boy?"

"Yes, bag boy. Even though he wasn't bag boy anymore at that time."

"Wow."

Rory wasn't sure what else to say. She didn't even understand why she had just told Jess this. She guessed that in some freaky way he just kind of deserved to know. It felt nice to have it out of the way.

"I'm not proud of it…" She added, softly.

Jess turned to her.

"Hey, you don't have to defend yourself!" He spoke up. "This happened years ago. And yes, it was a horrible thing to do and yes I hate that it was Dean…of all people, but… this doesn't make you a bad person. This makes you human, if anything. It's okay."

"Still. Not one of my finest moments."

"Yeah, I'd say it goes right up there with the boat-stealing. It's worse than dropping out of Yale and moving in with your grandparents though."

" It fits nicely in the middle, huh?"

Jess just nodded as another silence fell. Rory wondered how he thought of her right now. Did he now think less of her? Did this change his feelings for her? Did it even matter to him? Did he care?

"You're right though." He broke the short silence.

"About what?" She asked, curiously.

"You have changed. We both have. And we don't know half as much of each other as we think we do."

"Is that a bad thing?" She continued her chain of questions.

"I don't know." He shrugged as he got up from the porch. "If anything, it'll give us something to do the next two weeks."

"Always the optimist." Rory smiled as she also got up.

"Time for me to head back to the diner." Jess said. "Thanks for the beer."

"You're very welcome." She smiled.

He walked down the steps of the porch onto the grass and turned to her. He stared at her for just a few seconds and she just stared back from her position on the porch.

"I still think you're perfect, Ror." He suddenly said, not looking away.

Rory felt her heart jump in her chest at his perfect words. That was all she wanted to hear anyway. That he didn't think less of her. That he still cared about her. Loved her maybe even. Now she knew she could tell him anything and he'd still be there for her. It wouldn't change anything. He was ready for everything. The good, the bad and the ugly. And it was at that exact moment that she fell completely in love with him all over again. Not that she'd ever stopped, but it felt like it had reached a whole new level now.

She slowly nodded as she was still completely caught up in those perfect, brown eyes of his. She tried to push away the tears that had started to form in her eyes since he'd spoken those perfect words.

"You okay?" Jess asked as he slowly walked back up the steps in her direction. A worried look painted his face.

"Never been better." She softly spoke.

When he was close enough she reached out to one of his hands and took it in hers. Their fingers intwined and Rory looked down at it.

"I didn't mean to upset you." Jess carefully spoke. "I just meant that…"

"Kiss me." She suddenly interrupted him, looking up into his gorgeous eyes once again.

"What?"

"Ever since you walked back into my life I've wondered about what it would be like if you kissed me. I tried to remember what it was like the last time and of course I still know, but…I don't remember the exact feeling and…"

He cut her off by softly pressing his lips against hers. It took her a second to respond as she slowly started to kiss him back. He brought his hand to her cheek and she moved in a little closer, now completely closing the already small room between them. It kind of reminded them of a kiss they had shared a long time ago. At the gas station. At the beginning. When everything was just getting started and neither of them knew what they did now.

They broke the kiss, but didn't step away. They were now closer than ever. In more than one way.

"I'm in love with you." She whispered to him. "And I'm seriously starting to doubt if I ever stopped."

"I guess that means we're finally on the same page then. "

She kissed him again. And again. And again. Short and sweet at first. His lips, his cheeks, his chin. But the kisses quickly became longer and passionate and focused mostly on his lips. He didn't hesitate to kiss her back and she wrapped her arms around him, trying to pull him as close as possible.

"Don't go." She murmured in between the kisses that they got more and more caught up in. "Stay here. Spend the night."

"You sure that's a good idea?" He asked as he stopped kissing her and looked at her. "Shouldn't we wait?"

They were both a little out of breath and didn't mind a short break.

"I think it's about time." Rory truthfully answered. "We waited long enough."

The hesitation disappeared from Jess' face as she smiled at him and softly pushed him in the direction of the front door.

-x-x-x-x-

His kisses on her bare stomach almost drove her insane. His fingers tracing every inch of her body made her moan with pleasure. She didn't think this was ever going to happen and now that it was, she couldn't even think straight anymore. He was everywhere, but mostly he was in her head and she knew she would never get him out again.

-x-x-x-x-

"Why didn't we do this before?" She whispered as she slowly leaned over and rested her chin on his chest as she looked up at him.

"You tell me…" He teased her as he ran his fingers down her bare arms.

She shook her head.

"It wouldn't have been like this if we'd done this back then."

"You think so?"

"I know so. This was…magical."

Jess chuckled.

"Did you really just say that?"

"Don't be mean!" She ordered him, but soon she was laughing with him as he took her in his arms once again and pulled her as close as he possibly could.

As their laughter died, he kissed the top of her head and rested his chin on it.

"It was though." He whispered softly.

Rory couldn't help but chuckle again. It sounded so…clichéd. Jess smiled at her chuckling, but decided not to let her get away with it as he started to tickle her. Rory shrieked.

"Don't!" She begged as she tried to escape his hands, laughing.

"Sorry. You're gonna pay for that chuckle."

Rory recovered when he stopped tickling her just a second.

"Right back at you, Mr. Mariano." She told him, a seductive smile on her face as he began her own tickle-attack.

Jess was too late to fight it off and within seconds they were engaged in a tickling fight that took away every single one of the worries the two had. Right now, everything was perfect, even though they both knew it wouldn't stay that way.

-x-x-x-x-

The kisses on her arms, cheeks and lips helped her to slowly wake up with a smile on her face. It was such a good feeling. She opened her perfect, blue eyes and stared into his gorgeous, dark ones.

"Morning." She whispered.

"You'll love me." He said, smiling.

"What'd you do?" She asked, suspiciously as he sat up just a little and wrapped the covers around her bare body. It was chilly in the small bedroom.

"Zack and Lane are opening up the diner. They don't expect us until noon."

The smile on her face grew wider as her glance went to the alarm clock on her nightstand. It was only 7.30.

"So…that means you and I…" She started as she pulled him closer and tried to kiss him.

"Yes, it does." He confirmed as he teasingly pulled away from her. "But not until after breakfast. I'm starving. You've worn me out."

"And proud of it." She added, smilingly as she watched how Jess got up from the bed and quickly got dressed.

He turned to her.

"Checking the cupboards here for something edible is probably no good, is it?"

"You'd be surprised." Rory answered. "I did some grocery shopping yesterday. And of course Luke lives her now too. These cupboards haven't been empty in years."

"So some things do change." Jess smirked as he walked up to the door.

"You need help?" She asked.

"What was the rule again? Keep Gilmores away from every device used in the process of cooking?"

"Did you read the small print? Toasters are the exception." Rory added.

"I'll work the toaster myself. I prefer my toast when it's not burned, so…" He smirked, before exiting the room.

"Hey!" She exclaimed. "Uncalled for!"

-x-x-x-x-

After the most delicious breakfast she'd ever had, she had pulled Jess into the shower with her. They had to do their very best to keep their hands off each other, but they had succeeded. Sort of. There had been a few exceptions of course and she was well aware that this shower had probably been of no use. They'd be back in bed before she'd be fully dressed anyway. She was brushing her hair in front of the big mirror in the bathroom, wearing only her bra and panties.

Suddenly the doorbell rang. It remained silent in the house for just a few seconds.

"You want me to get it?" Jess yelled upstairs.

Rory grabbed her dress and quickly put it on as she walked downstairs.

"No, I'll do it." She answered him. "I don't think the town would be able to handle it if they found out you spent the night . I don't want to be responsible for the heart attack Miss Patty will very likely get."

"Not to mention Kirk's panic attack." Jess added.

She laughed. She was downstairs and saw Jess was only wearing his boxers. Not a bad sight, she thought as she leaned in and planted a kiss on his soft lips. He wrapped his arms around her and for just a second they got caught up in their own little world.

Then the doorbell rang again and Rory freed herself from Jess' loving embrace.

"Coming!" She exclaimed as she gave Jess one last smile before walking up to the frontdoor and opening it in one small motion.

She had to catch her breath as she came face to face with the blonde guy on her door step.

"Logan!"

-x-x-x-x-

**A/N: Yes, another cliffhanger! I'm so mean! Maybe you're getting a little tired of the Rory/Jess/Logan love triangle, but I felt that there were still some things left unsaid between these three. Especially after what happened in this chapter. Hopefully you agree. I'll try to update soon. A review would really motivate me...hint hint...**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I'm poor, it's sad. However, I did pay off the money I owed my mom. Yay me!**

**A/N: Okay, so this took a tad bit longer than I expected, but here I am with a new chapter! Its...different and I'm not sure if I like it or not. I had some trouble writing it and ended up just deciding to write whatever popped into my head, because I was never going to get it right anyway. Kind of like Rory and Jess. ;) Anyway, here it is. It might not be great, but it's here and it is what it is. The way they are what they are...**

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**REQUEST: I'm looking for a great way to end this story. I need the perfect final scene for this story and of course I have tons of ideas, but I'm curious what you can come up with. I like getting inspired by other people. So, what is your fairytale ending (I'm not saying it HAS to be a happy one!) to this story? Let me know in your review. I might end up using it and (of course) giving you full credit of it! I can't wait to hear some of your ideas!**

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**Now, on with the chapter! However, not before thanking you for all the amazing reviews! You have no idea how much they mean to me and how much they motivate me to write more!**

-x-x-x-x-

About 101 different thoughts went through Rory's head when she saw the unexpected guest standing in her doorway. What was he doing here? What was she going to do about Jess who was still inside? Why was he smiling like that? And why did it hurt this much to see him?

"Hi, Ace." His simple and predictable opening line was.

Rory was too startled to say anything. She noticed he was holding a big box, most certainly containing the few last things that belonged to her and she had left behind at the apartment.

"What are you doing here?" She eventually managed to ask.

Logan nodded to the box he was holding.

"Dropping off some last things. Heavy things, I might add, so if I could come in for a second…"

"No!" She interrupted him. "That's okay. Just leave the box on the doorstep and I'll take it inside later."

Logan chuckled.

"What's the point in that? Besides, I didn't _just_ come here to drop this off." He said, before taking a deep breath. "I thought we could talk…"

"About what?"

"Come on, Ace." Logan began. "You know about what. Can I now please come in, because I don't know how much longer I can hold this box."

Rory's brain was working on over-time. Usually her brain was pretty brilliant and came up with all sorts of creative things, but this time she drew a blank. She couldn't think of a single excuse. Except…

"The house is a mess!" She exclaimed. "You wouldn't believe it, so… We could talk on the porch…"

"It's freezing."

"Well, I could use the fresh air and…"

Logan frowned.

"What's going on, Ror? Why can't I come in?"

"It's not so much can't as…" She started, but Logan had become suspicious and before she even realized what was going on he had passed her on the doorstep and had entered the house.

"Logan!" She started, trying to stop him, but the damage was done.

The two boys came face to face in the Gilmore living room. Jess had become aware of Logan's arrival pretty soon after Rory had opened the door, so he was in the midst of getting dressed. His jeans were on, but still unbuttoned, revealing his black boxers. He was holding on to his shirt, but hadn't exactly put it on just yet.

"Logan…" Rory repeated upon also entering the livingroom, this time her voice was soft and full of guilt.

Logan didn't say anything at first. He just looked at Jess, who seemed startled and unsure of what to do next. Then Logan slowly put down the heavy box he was holding and turned to Rory.

"Interesting…" His first word was.

Rory wanted to say something. An apology maybe, but she couldn't find the words.

Jess had now quickly put on his shirt, but was still standing in the same spot, staring at the two people standing in front of him.

"At least you didn't waste any time." Logan continued.

"You weren't supposed to find out like this…" Rory said.

This seemed to upset Logan.

"Oh, how considerate of you!" He suddenly exclaimed. "Really feeling the love in here. You couldn't have waited? Until we had at least talked things through?!"

"You called off our engagement!" Rory yelled, now also getting pretty worked up. "I figured that said about enough!"

"So you throw yourself in the arms of the very first guy that comes your way?!"

"He's not the very first guy that…"

"Oh, right." Logan interrupted her. "He's the love of your life. The one that got away. The one who's going to give you your happy ever after, right? Even though all he's ever done is lie to you and abandon you! I can't believe you would let him use you like that again! I didn't think you'd be so stupid to fall for that again, Rory!"

"Hey!" Jess now spoke up, although still calm. "Don't talk to her like that. Don't ever call her stupid!"

Logan turned to him, laughing sarcastically.

"Pretty boy is sticking up for his little whore, huh?" He began.

Of course that was a big mistake. Jess could no longer stay calm and before he knew what he was doing he had already punched Logan in the face. Hard. Logan fell back against the wall. He quickly recovered though and made his way to Jess. To return the favor, no doubt, but Rory had already stepped in and stood in between the two guys.

"Stop it!" She yelled.

"Get out of my way, Rory." Logan said, no longer calm.

"No! I don't need you two fighting! So, you either calm down or you leave. Right now." She said, determined.

This seemed to bring Logan back to reality, although the two boys were still staring at each other, rage spread on both of their faces. Rory turned around to face Jess.

"Listen...I need you to go, okay?"

"What?!"

"I just need to talk to Logan for a minute, okay? And I can't have you here when I do that, because the two of you are ready to kill each other."

"Rory..."

"I'm sorry." She immediately apologized. "But please..."

Jess seemed to think it over for a few seconds, before slowly nodding and getting his stuff together and turningback to Rory. He opened his mouth to say something, but changed his mind. He gave Logan another glare (if looks could kill...), before walking off in the direction of the kitchen and leaving out of the backdoor.

Rory and Logan stood in silence for a while, then Logan, deciding that the fact Rory asked Jess to leave meant his own victory, broke the silence.

"Can you believe he punched me?! Is he crazy?"

Rory looked up at him.

"You deserved it." She spoke coldly.

"I deserved it?! Come on, Rory. What was I supposed to do? Just accept that he slept with my fiancée?"

"First of all: ex-fiancée..." She started.

"Since two days, yeah."

"...Second of all..." She continued, pretending not to hear him. "It was a mutual decision. I wanted it just as much as he did."

Logan closed his eyes for a second.

"I don't want to hear that." He said, softly and Rory suddenly felt some sympathy for him again.

She was unsure of what to say next.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled eventually. "But...we are over. You called off the engagement, you didn't even come say goodbye when I moved out..."

"Because I was hurt, Rory!" Logan suddenly exclaimed and he looked her straight in the eye, unable to hide the tears that were forming in them. "I couldn't bring myself to face you until now. And when I finally work up the courage, this happens. I see you with him and... it hurts. It's only been two days and you're already in the arms of someone else. I guess I hoped I meant more to you..."

"This is _not _about that..." Rory said, softly. "I cared, care even...Otherwise I wouldn't have said yes when you proposed to me, Logan. I loved you, with all my heart, but...you're not the one. I thought you were..."

"And he is?" Logan asked, half-hostile, half-hurt.

Rory hesitated, then she shrugged.

"We keep going back to each other." She responded. "No matter what happens, he will always be there."

"I don't like him." Logan said.

"You're kind of not supposed to." Rory answered, lightly. "It'd be a bit strange if you'd be best buds with the guy who stole your fiancée away."

Logan smiled a little.

"It's not just that...he's..."

"I know, but he's good guy, Logan. He hasn't always made the right choices, but he's come a long way. Not so long ago he was a guy with no future and look where he is today. He's a popular writer..."

"He's got the girl he always wanted." Logan added bitterly.

"...He's got his life on track."

Logan nodded slowly.

"And mine is falling apart."

"Just because I'm no longer in it?" Rory asked. "You have a great life, Logan. You do what you've always wanted to do. You got away from your dad and did what you wanted. That's amazing. You have a lot of friends..."

"But I lost the girl."

"There'll be others." She assured him.

Logan didn't respond to that at first. He stared at the floor in silence for a little while, before finally looking up at Rory again. Then he walked into the hallway and opened the front door. Rory walked with him. Before leaving he turned around one last time.

"There may be others, but there'll never be another Rory Gilmore."

Rory smiled.

"Thank you." She then said. "And I'm sorry."

He nodded before walking out the door, closing it behind him, leaving Rory in the hallway all by herself staring at where Logan had been standing just seconds ago.

-x-x-x-x-

About an hour later Rory entered Luke's. She had needed some time to over think what had just happened, but she hadn't exactly figured it out just yet. She felt confused and upset, even though she didn't knew what it was exactly that she was confused and upset about. The diner was crowded, but not as bad as the day before. She saw Jess serving breakfast to customers, a grumpy look decorating his face. He was obviously in a bad mood. He hadn't even heard her come in.

"Hey." She called out to him, causing him to look up.

The expression on his face turned pretty much emotionless as he responded.

"Hey."

"Can we talk?"

"I'm kind of busy, Ror." Jess told her, a little bit annoyed as he motioned to the crowded diner.

"Zack and Lane can cover for you, right? So you can take a break?"

Jess sighed, still not looking at her. It took him a long time to finally answer.

"Sure." He then nodded, even though it didn't sound too convincing. He turned to the counter where Lane was serving customers coffee.

"Lane? I'm taking five, okay?"

Lane looked up and it was only then that she noticed Rory.

"Rory!" She called out, excited, ignoring Jess. "You and I need to talk! Like…really talk. Now!"

Rory smiled at her friend and then nodded slowly.

"Sure, we'll talk. I just need to talk to Jess first, okay?"

"So the guy goes before the best friend?" Lane teasingly asked.

"No…I just need to…"

"I know, I know." Lane interrupted. "He's Jess. Who can compete with that?! From your point of view, that is. We'll talk later. I'll be here…wiping counters, serving coffee…"

"Thanks." Rory smiled.

Lane flashed Rory another smile, before Rory reached out to Jess' hand (it didn't seem like he would've come with her voluntarily) and pulled him outside with her.

"Rory…" Jess started.

"We're gonna go some place quiet first, then you can object to this. Until then…hush." Rory ordered him as she continued to pull him along with her, in the direction of a familiar spot to them both.

She thought she heard him chuckle just a little, but when she looked up to see his face, his expression was serious as ever.

She let go of his hand as soon as they reached the bridge. He immediately stopped walking and stared over the water, not looking at Rory, obviously not planning on being the first one to open his mouth and start up a conversation.

"Are you mad at me?" She eventually decided to ask.

His head shot up and their eyes met."

"No…" He responded, softly, but firmly. "Of course not."

"I'm sorry I asked you to leave, but…"

"Don't be sorry, Rory. I get it. I just didn't like leaving you alone with that…" He seemed to struggle to find an appropriate word.

"Please don't finish that sentence." Rory said. "I think I get the picture."

Jess nodded slowly, once again staring out over the water, apparently deep in thought. Rory watched him with sincere fascination. Something was on his mind. Something big. Something was wrong.

This time he was the one to break the silence.

"I think we made a mistake." He then spoke.

Rory's heart fell at those words.

"A mistake?!" She spoke up. "You think last night was a mistake?!"

Jess looked up at her with a tormented expression on his face.

"It was too soon."

"What are you talking about?! I thought we agreed that it wasn't?! I thought we agreed it was a magical night?!" Rory fired a string of questions at him, not believing her own ears and getting more worked up with every passing second.

"It was!" Jess spoke up, leaving Rory speechless. "Of course it was. You know it was…but…then Logan showed up and it just hit me that until a few days ago you were engaged to that guy!"

"An engagement that got called off because of you!" Rory objected, tears forming in her eyes.

"I know that and I keep telling myself that, but…it's only been two days, Rory! Two fucking days!"

"So? What does that mean? Does that mean that what I feel for you can't be real?!"

"I don't know!" Jess shouted, not so much at her, but at the whole situation and how much it hurt. "You tell me!"

Rory stared at Jess in awe, on the verge of breaking into tears. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know how to respond to these absurd words.

"You think I don't love you?" She then asked, softly as she tried her best to stop her bottom lip from trembling as the tears welled up once again.

"No, it's not that…" Jess sighed, frustrated.

He raised his hands over his head and let out a frustrated groan, before turning to her.

"I don't know how you feel about me." He then said. "I believe you when you say you love me, but… I just think it's too soon… I can't be that guy, Rory!"

"What guy?" She asked, not following.

"The rebound guy or whatever. The guy you use to get over him."

Rory heard the emotion in his voice and felt her heart break just a little. So that was what this was all about. He was afraid of getting hurt. By her. She didn't know how to respond, so she just stared at him, ignoring the tear that was slowly rolling down her cheek.

"I can't be that guy, Rory! If we ever do this…if we ever take a shot at us, I need it to be for real. I don't want just a few nights or a few weeks. If we do this, I want to be in for the long run. And that probably sounds weird coming from me, but you're it for me, Ror! I knew that back then and I'm even more convinced of that now."

"I'm convinced of that, too!" Rory cried, almost desperately. "I want you, Jess! Nobody else."

"I believe you…" He said, softly. "But you've been with Logan for years! You planned on marrying him, spending the rest of your life with him. That only ended two days ago! You need time! Time to get over this, close the book."

"That's not up to you to decide!" She yelled, not believing what was going on here.

It wasn't that she didn't understand him. She understood him very well. He had broken her heart too. She knew all about heartbreak and she also knew it was close to impossible to recover from. He was trying to protect himself. She got that. She really did. But it wasn't necessary! She didn't need time! The book was already closed. Logan was in her past and she was ready to start her future. With Jess. Why didn't he see that? Why couldn't she convince him of that?!

"Yes, it is." Jess responded, rather calmly, even though he was no longer able to hide the tears forming in his eyes either. "Because it's not just your own heart you're dealing with."

With that he turned around and started to walk away, leaving Rory heartbroken on the bridge.

"Jess!" She called after him.

But he didn't react. He just continued to walk away, no hesitation. Rory watched him and grew a little more sad with every step he took. He was gone. Again.

Were they ever going to get it right?

-x-x-x-x-

A/N: The little review button is calling your name... And don't forget to include your fairytale ending to this story! ;)


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I'm so sorry about the long wait! But here I am with the unexpected final chapter. I hadn't planned on that at all, but it just kind of turned out that way. I hope you'll enjoy it. It's kind of cliché-****ville**** all over, but…yeah. **

**Also, thank you for all the kind reviews with the many great ideas for an ending. I'd like to credit Sydney Lynne for the way I ended the story. It was her idea and I used it in my own way (hopefully to her satisfaction!). She really inspired me.**

**Lastly, I'd like to thank all of you for staying loyal to this story, even though I didn't always update all that fast. You have no idea how much it means to me and I**** had a great time writing this!**

**Now, enjoy the final chapter!**

-x-x-x-x-

_Chapter 10_

For the next two weeks they worked together at Luke's. Jess stayed out of her way, refused to even say as much as 'hello' to her in the morning and pretty much pretended like she didn't exist. It was painful. To say the least. She tried to talk to him, but he seemed to look right through her. Rory never felt worse.

After the two weeks, when Lorelai and Luke came home, Jess disappeared without a word. No goodbye, no nothing. Rory hadn't expected him to. She had lost him. Again. Maybe forever now.

-x-x-x-x-

She liked her new place. It was small, but cozy and it really felt like a fresh start. She was okay now. Everything was okay. He was still on her mind though. A lot. After the first month she had tried to call him. Once, twice, three times. After all, it had been a month, right? How much time did he assume they needed? He didn't answer, didn't return her calls.

After the second month she called again. More than three times now. One time someone had answered. It wasn't him. She asked for him, but the guy on the other end of the line said he couldn't come to the phone and asked if he could take a message. She had told him no. A letter followed. It took her ages to write it. Nothing happened.

Now three months had gone by. She had picked up the pieces of her shattered life. She was working her butt off, but had managed to make some new friends. Friends that didn't have anything to do with her former fiancée. Things were great. She felt happy. She still missed him though. She was done chasing him and was willing to give him time to come to her. She didn't think it was going to happen anytime soon. She knew him. He would be back in her life eventually, but it was probably going to be years. History had proven that much. It was okay though. She'd wait. She'd give him time.

One day, three months after they last spoke, the doorbell rang. She opened it and accepted what the messenger handed her. She signed for it and investigated the package with curiosity. It was sent from Philadelphia. Her heart skipped a beat.

Inside she sat down on her fluffy couch and found her hands shaking as she carefully opened the package. She took out the bundle of papers wrapped inside.

_'__Enlightment__' by Jess Mariano._

_Chapter 1._

No note. No nothing. But it was enough. She spent a week and half editing it. Every day a few pages. She sent it back the same way it had come her way. She didn't include a note either. It was okay like this.

More chapters followed. She edited them all as she got caught up in the breathtaking story. She cried sometimes. It was all too familiar, came to close. For another three months this continued. He sent them her way and she sent them back when she was done. It was all the contact they had. She wished for a note or a letter, but it never came, so she never sent one either.

Eventually the day came when she had to sent back the epilogue. It hurt because she wasn't sure what would happen now. Was this the end of it?

Barely two months later she got the invitation through the mail. She smiled as she read it. The printed words were formal and cold, but as she turned the card around she was greeted by his familiar, messy handwriting on the back.

I'm gonna need you there.

Jess.

-x-x-x-x-

Rory nervously walked up to the big building where one of the hosts stopped her. He smiled at her friendly.

"Name, please."

"Gilmore." She answered.

He checked his guest list.

"Lorelai Leigh?"

"I doubt you have any other Gilmores on there. I'm the only one he can remotely stand."

The guy smiled a sincere smile as he stepped aside to let her in.

"Have fun."

"Thank you."

She couldn't believe how upset her stomach was as she stepped inside. She remember a certain conversation she and Jess had had a while back where he thought everything in her life was fancy. Apparently now it was the other way around. The place was so formal and unlike Jess. She knew he was hating all of this. He was probably proud of his book and was happy about publishing it, but he didn't need all this around it. He probably resented the entire idea of a booklaunching party.

A woman in red took her coat and escorted her through the big hallway to the gigantic ballroom. Huge posters featuring the cover of the new book graced the walls, waiters were handing out glasses of champagne (he hated champagne!), soft classical music was playing and everything from the curtains to the table cloths were a soft color of pink that Jess no doubt despised. On her left side was a big table with tons of copies of the new book. It's the first place she went. She took a copy from the table and stared at the cover. It was a drawing of a bridge, with water around it and two figures that couldn't be made out on top of it. They were obviously a boy and a girl and the bridge obviously wasn't just any bridge. The bridge was their bridge. The bridge where they not only had their last heartbreaking moment, but also shared some amazing ones. The same bridge was featured in the book numerous times and Rory smiled. This was amazing.

She read the back of the book for the first time and really liked the description of the story. Her eyes were drawn to the left corner.

Edited by: Lorelai Leigh Gilmore. _Rory._

She loved how he had included her full name, but didn't forget to just keep it simple. She was just Rory.

She opened the book on the first page was surprised by the words of dedication. No longer R.G.

_Dedicated to my girl. It'__ll always be you._

_Dodger_

She couldn't wipe the smile of her face.

-x-x-x-x-

About an hour and three glasses of champagne later , Rory was getting insanely bored. And still no sight of the reason she was here in the first place. A few people had come up to her to make small talk so far. They talked about Jess mostly. About his books at first, but the conversation quickly turned to the mystery that surrounded him. Nobody knew anything about him. They didn't know where he came from, what his life had been like up to now. Jess the author had surrounded himself with mystery. Which really wasn't all that different from Jess the person, Rory thought. It intrigued people and it was basically all they talked about. Rory didn't tell them anything. She played along. She knew Jess would want her to. One man recognized her as the editor of this latest book as she introduced herself. He praised her, but Rory didn't take it too seriously, since she knew the man couldn't have read the book yet anyway. She had just smiled politely and thanked him for his kind words.

Then it happened. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she immediately knew. She turned around and came face to face with him.

"Hey." He said, smirking.

"Hi." Rory said, softly.

He hadn't changed a single bit. He was still the same, old Jess and she loved him for it.

"You having fun?"

She nodded.

"Yeah. Great party."

"Liar."

She chuckled softly as she looked around.

"Who are all these people, Jess?"

He shrugged.

"Not sure. I think I know about ten people here. And that includes you. Four others I know by face, two by name and two I do know by both face _and_ name, but the one I refer to as Jim might also be a Tim and Sally might very well be a Kelly."

She smiled shyly.

"So it's safe to say you didn't plan this party yourself?"

"You did see the salmon pink table cloths, didn't you?"

"Enough said."

Jess nodded.

"Wanna go some place quiet?"

"You sure?" Rory hesitantly asked. "Can you just leave your own party?"

"If you put me in a line-up, 99 of these people wouldn't recognize me as the author of the book whose party they are attending, if their life depended on it."

"Good point…" She smiled and she tried not to blush as he took her hand and guided her through the big crowd of people.

-x-x-x-x-

They entered a small room and as soon as Jess closed the door behind them, it blocked out all the sound from the party. It became quiet. It was just the two of them. The room was dark and Jess searched for a light switch, but didn't find one. All the while he was still holding on to Rory. He guided her to one of the corners and switched on a small table lamp. They sat down on two chairs that Jess had taken from the big, old table that was in the center of the room. He immediately took her hand back in his, since he had to let go of it to get the chairs. They looked at each other. They both had a large shadow over their faces because of the small light. It made Rory smile a little.

"So, written any good books lately?" Rory broke the silence.

"You tell me."

She smiled at him. Then she nodded, but wasn't sure if Jess was able to see that. Another silence fell.

"It's been a while." She continued, desperate to start up a conversation, since she wasn't so comfortable with the silence as Jess obviously was.

Jess wasn't about to co-operate though and he didn't say anything. He just looked at her, which made her even more uncomfortable. She shifted in her seat, not sure where to look or what to do. Her eyes landed on their entwined fingers and she felt his firm grasp around her hand.

"You look good." She continued, not willing to give up. "Wearing a suit and everything. A tie even."

Still no response. Just Jess looking at her. Every now and then she would look up at him too and their eyes would meet, but then she would look away. Simply because she didn't know what else to do. She was nervous, without even knowing what she was nervous about and Jess wasn't a big help.

"Okay, Jess…please say something." She now pleaded, looking him straight in the eye. "I know you're not a man of many words, but I can't keep this conversation going all by myself."

A sly smirk appeared on his face. She then smiled back. An uncomfortable smile, no doubt.

"You look beautiful." He then said.

"Thanks." She blushed.

"How's everything?"

"It's good."

He nodded.

"Been on any bad dates lately?"

Rory smiled.

"You cut right to the chase, huh?"

He simply shrugged, looking at her expectantly.

"Just one." She confessed and didn't miss the slight disappointment in his eyes. "Somebody from work set it up. I couldn't really say no."

"And? Did you have fun?"

She nodded slightly.

"So now you're engaged to him and I'm too late again?" He joked, but the expression on his face serious as ever.

She chuckled a little.

"No, don't worry. I had a fun night, but that's all."

"Tell me."

"He took me to dinner and then a movie." She started.

"How original." Jess teased.

"It was sweet." She smiled. "He was real polite. Brought me flowers and opened doors for me."

"Sounds like a real gentleman."

"You wouldn't think so if you saw him though. He was kind of a bad boy. Dark and mysterious. Inseparable from his leather jacket and he'd had his fair share of run-ins with authorities. He got his life back on track though an now he paints. And becoming kind of successful at that too."

"Sounds like your type." He joked.

"He was." Rory confirmed, smiling at him teasingly.

"So how come it ended after one night?" Jess asked, slowly moving his thumb up and down, stroking her warm and soft hand and leaning in just a little, a sly smile decorating his pretty face.

"There was something missing." Rory shrugged. "I couldn't put my finger on it, but…"

He wouldn't even let her finish the sentence. He cut her off by softly kissing her. He let go of her hand now as he moved it to her cheek. Rory smiled as she started kissing him back, surprised by how natural it felt, even though it had been almost six months since their last kiss. It's been argued that it's impossible to pick up where left off, but Rory was starting to doubt that now. She was giggling just a little when he broke the kiss. He looked at her.

"Did that help at all?"

"Yeah. " She answered. "I think that was it."

"The missing ingredient?" He joked.

She nodded.

"Glad I could be of service."

He rested his hand carefully on her left knee, still staring at her.

"So how about you?" Rory asked.

"What about me?"

"Bad dates?"

He shook his head, the smirk never leaving his face.

"No dates." He explained.

"Wow. Not a single date. Impressive."

"That's the difference between you and me, Gilmore. I don't need to go on a date with a beautiful, on the surface innocent, bright blue-eyed girl first to realize that there will always be something missing."

"Were you always this smart?"

"I think it comes with age." Jess answered, matter-of-factly.

"Really?" She asked as she carefully leaned in and placed another soft kiss on his lips.

"Yes, really." He murmured with her lips still on his.

"I can't believe we're sitting here." Rory said as she pressed her forehead against his and stared into his eyes.

"Not fancy enough for your taste?"

"No." She answered firmly as she playfully hit him on the arm, causing him to chuckle. "That's not what I meant! I meant that this has been such a long time coming and now…for the first time….there seems to be nothing in the way."

"Except you living in New York and me living in Philadelphia." Jess immediately said.

"Right. Leave it to you to suck the fun out of everything." Rory laughed.

"I'm just saying…"

"You could move." Rory offered.

"So could you." He tossed back.

"What would be the point in that? Then I'd be living in Philly and you'd be in New York. Don't see how that'd help us."

She stuck out her tongue at him and he chuckled.

"We'll figure it out." She then said, serious as ever.

"We will." Jess agreed, searching for her hand and once again entwining their fingers.

"Promise?"

Jess nodded.

"So now what?"

"Now we have a party to attend." Jess decided.

"Together?"

"You really think I'm letting go of this hand tonight?" He winked, causing her to blush.

-x-x-x-x-

"Please welcome, the man who's inspired us in so many ways: Jess Mariano."

Jess' eyes grew wide as he looked up at Rory who immediately started laughing.

"How come I did not know about this?" He asked as the crowd started clapping and the woman on stage looked at him expectantly.

"Maybe you should get involved in the party planning just a bit more next time." Rory advised him as she took his hand and guided him to the round stage.

"I don't have anything prepared."

"Is tough Jess Mariano nervous?" Rory teased him.

Before Jess even had a chance to respond to that Rory pushed him on to the stage and the clapping got louder as he appeared. The woman stepped away from the microphone and the crowd grew silent as Jess took her place and nervously scanned the big crowd. It was endearing to watch and Rory smiled.

"Thank you." Jess stammered. "Uhm, I…just want to thank all of you for coming out tonight and supporting me and…the book."

It remained eerily silent in the big ballroom. Jess took a deep breath and suddenly recovered as he regained his confidence and searched for eye contact with Rory.

"For a man who has been told that he's got his way with words on paper, I really suck at speaking in public like this. Mostly because I don't have a lot to say. However, there is one person that I need to thank. Most of you probably only know her because you've read her name on the back of my book tonight, but the truth is that doesn't do her justice at all. I met her when I was just a teenager and didn't know anything about life and love. But since then everything I've done and accomplished has been about her. We never really got out timing right and I had to let her go far too many times, even though many of those times it was my own fault. A few months ago I left her behind on a bridge, even though all I wanted to do was hold on to her and never let go. Without her my books wouldn't exist. Not just because the books are about her, about us, but also because without her it never would've occurred to me to put my thoughts on paper. For the longest time I was just a screw-up. I was heading nowhere and my last resort, even though I didn't see it like that, was Stars Hallow, Connecticut. A town with the craziest people you will ever meet , but also the two people that got me here today. She was the town princess. Beautiful, smart, funny. Pairing her up with this bad boy was more than the town could handle. Yet she's here tonight, because even after all this time we still haven't let go. She's always been a part of me even when we weren't talking. Tonight, however…I got her back. And I think this time it's for good. At least I know I'm not letting go. So I would like to dedicate this night, the book and my life to the most beautiful woman in this world, miss Rory Gilmore."

With that Jess stepped away from the microphone and stepped off the stage, making his way back to the woman he spoke so highly of. The crowd suddenly burst into cheering and clapping, surprising both him and Rory. When he finally got to her, he grabbed her waist and pulled her closer.

"That was…" Rory started, not hiding the tears that had formed in her eyes.

"Clichéd as hell." Jess finished the sentence.

"Well…yeah, but…"

They laughed, not noticing that all eyes were on them as Jess leaned in and kissed her with all he had. The cheering got even louder as Jess wrapped her arms around Rory and their kiss got more passionate. She broke the kiss after several seconds, as he still held on to her.

"I think this is the part where I tell you I love you." Rory whispered so only Jess would hear.

"I've already addressed every cliché in the book, so one more probably won't hurt." Jess shrugged.

"Well, I love you Jess Mariano."

"I love you, Lorelai Leigh Gilmore."

Rory burst into laughing.

"How lame are we?!"

"I don't care." Jess said, truthfully.

Her laughter became a wide smile before she leaned back in and kissed him again. The crowd was still applauding them and it actually felt kind of nice. This time Jess lifted her off the ground just a little bit and she couldn't help but laugh while kissing him. Sure, they were one those clichéd couples now, but the important part was that they _were_ a couple. It had been a long time coming and she doubted it had ever taken two people this long to find their way to each other, but here they were. Even after all this time, their love hadn't died.

-x-x-x-x-

* * *

-x-x-x-x-

_One year later_

Jess nervously shifted from one feet to the other, a stern expression on his face.

"Would you just stand still for a second?" Luke ordered him, trying to fix Jess' tie.

"I doubt it would do any good, because you just suck at this."

"Well, do you have anybody else around to do it for you?"

Luke let go of the tie just a second as he and Jess looked at each other first, before turning to the big sofa in the room. TJ sat in it going through a bowl of M&M's eating some, but throwing the brown ones over his shoulder. Luke raised his eyebrows at Jess. Their gaze moved to Jimmy who was standing in front of the big mirror trying to get a suspicious stain out of his pants using his own tie. Luke gave Jess another look.

"Fine." Jess sighed. "Point taken. I'll stand still."

"You sure?" Luke continued. "I mean, I could step out for a second and get Kirk for you. I'm sure he's a pro at this."

"I said I'd stand still, didn't I?" Jess responded. "No need to kick a guy when he's already down."

Luke smirked as he went back to fixing the tie.

"You enjoyed that way too much." Jess murmured.

"I can't help it. It's always fun to annoy you, but now that you're nervous it's just too easy."

"Well, I'm glad somebody is having a good time."

"You'll enjoy it too, trust me. Once the 'I do's' are out it's all a piece of cake."

"I'd like to fast forward to that then, please."

"Miss Patty has prepared a song." Luke suddenly said.

"What?!"

"Not kidding."

"Did she do that for you and Lorelai too?"

"Nope. You're special." Luke teased.

"Could this day get any more fun?"

"The rumor goes she's stripping too."

"Ah, geez…"

"And Taylor's prepared a speech. I heard it includes a part about 'deflowering' a woman."

Jess took the tie from Luke's hand and tried fixing it himself.

"Now you're just messing with me."

"Taking your mind off things." Luke explained.

Jess walked up to the mirror and then turned back to Luke.

"Is this right?"

"You look good."

Jess took a deep breath.

"How long?"

Luke checked his watch.

"Ten minutes."

"That leaves enough time to throw up, right?"

"Her morning sickness is rubbing off on you?"

"Shut up."

-x-x-x-x-

When the big doors opened and she appeared, Jess felt how he stopped breathing for just half a second. She was wearing a somewhat sparkly, strapless, off-white dress that showed off her barely there bump. Her hair was up and the long veil was hanging loosely over her shoulders and down her back. Her gorgeous, blue eyes stood out and they locked with his dark pools. They smiled and at that moment everything was just perfect. Even after all this time.

THE END

-x-x-x-x-


End file.
